By: Andrea Ponce, Jerod Orcullo
Letran suffers from brutal first loss in the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup against the Adamson Soaring Falcons. Photo courtesy of Eduardo Nollora Jr. of The LANCE.
The Letran Knights were clobbered by the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 78-99, in the third iteration of the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup at the Amoranto Sports Complex earlier today.
Letran was without Jimboy Estrada in today’s matchup who proved to be instrumental in their first two wins with averages of 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. The reason for his absence was not fully disclosed.
Paolo Javillonar churned out 13 markers with six boards, while Jonathan Manalili and James Pradela posted identical numbers of 10 points and three assists with the latter also tallying two steals and a block.
The three point shooting was the x-factor for the Soaring Falcons as they shot a combined 11/23 (47.83%) from beyond the arc, headlined by a second quarter that saw them drain five out of 10 attempts.
After a nip and tuck affair in the opening frame, Adamson started to widen the spread by out hustling the Knights, particularly in the rebound department where they grabbed nine more boards, which translated to a 33-55 ball game headed to the half.
Coming off the break, two quick baskets by Kenji Canete and Alou Gaye gave the Ermita-based squad their largest cushion of the contest at 27.
Despite the game slowly slipping away with every second passing, Letran chipped away at the deficit to get as close as 13, but back-to-back makes from Gaye and AJ Fransman kept them at bay, 61-78.
With the momentum continuing to favor the Soaring Falcons, they cruised to their first win after going 0-5 to begin their Pinoyliga stint, 78-99.
Emmanuel Anabo’s game-high 17 points and six rebounds allowed him to take home the player of the game honors. Allen Ignacio had a near double-double performance with 14 markers to go along with nine boards, while Canete finished with 12 of his own.
The Letran Knights look to bounce back in their bout against the Diliman College Blue Dragons at 2:00 p.m. at Enderun College in Taguig.