Photo by Michael Estupigan/The LANCE
The Letran Knights extended their winning streak to four, after trouncing the Arellano University Chiefs, 88-70, in the NCAA Season 94 held at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
It was a see-saw battle at first, things changed however for the Knights when Jerrick Balanza converted an and-1; igniting a 13-3 run to end the third quarter, 66-65.
From there, the Knights never gave the Chiefs a chance as they extended their scoring run to 17 points in the initial part of the final quarter.
“I think nung third quarter lang ata kami lumaro ng tama eh. Pag labas na pag labas namin, ‘yung yung i-nadress ko sa locker room,” head coach Jeff Napa said, noting the team’s subpar performance in the first half.
“So, atleast ‘yung mga players responded already kaya naging maganda ‘yung third quarter run namin. Atleast ‘yung character na willing to re-group, willing mag-laro ulit as a team, na-numbalik ulit,” he added.
Six players scored in double figures for the Napa-mentored squad. Also, the Knights dominated the rebounding department and grabbed 50 boards compared to Arellano's 33.
Larry Muyang tops-cored the Knights with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jerrick Balanza fired 14 points while Christian Fajarito posted another double-double of 11 points and 11 boards.
Michael Cañete on the other hand, made things difficult for the Knights, scoring 23 points and grabbing eigth rebounds for Arellano. Rence Alcoriza added 13 points in a losing effort.
On Friday, Letran will face its fierce rival San Beda University Red Lions at 4:00 p.m. at the same venue.
The scores:
CSJL (88) - Muyang 16, Balanza 14, Calvo 13, Quinto 11, Fajarito 11, Batiller 11, Ambohot 8, Mandreza 2, Agbong 2, Balagasay 0, Celis 0, Yu 0, Taladua 0
AU (70) - Cañete 23, Alcoriza 13, Dela Cruz 11, Alban 8, Villoria 7, Concepcion 6, Dela Torre 2, Sera Josef 0, Ongolo Ongolo 0, Santos 0, Bayla 0, Sacramento 0, Codiñera 0, Segura 0
Quarterscores: 16-17, 37-36, 68-55, 88-70