By: Jerod Orcullo
Letran's hopes of reaching the finals end, with a downhill loss against La Salle. Photo courtesy of Ram Christian Campos of The LANCE.
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights exited the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup Season 3 after a loss to star-studded De La Salle University Green Archers, 67-95, in their quarterfinals matchup at Enderun Colleges in Taguig this rainy Wednesday afternoon.
James Pradela carved out a solid performance with 12 points, four assists, two rebounds, and a couple of steals, while Stephen Garupil and Peter Rosillo dropped 11 and 10, respectively.
La Salle seized the game from the get-go as after a timeout nearing the five-minute mark of the first they proceeded to close out the opening frame on a 25-4 run, leaving Letran helpless as they provided little to no resistance defensively.
The Green Archers extended their lead to as big as 39 midway through the third after an EJ Gollena layup, 33-72, as they scored at will shooting a combined 41/67 (61.19%) from the field for the match while holding the Knights to an abysmal 24/64 (40.63%) on the other end.
Rosillo tried his best to chip away at the deficit, leading an 11-0 run by the Muralla-based group but he was no match for the backcourt duo of Kean Baclaan and Jacob Cortez that traded baskets, paired with Luis Pablo's sturdy presence in the low post, helping La Salle to advance to the Pinoyliga Semis.
Pablo received the Player of the Game honors as he delivered 12 points and eight rebounds, Cortez had an efficient 13 markers, followed by 12 apiece from Gollena and Andrei Dungo.
Letran shifts its focus to the Filoil EcoOil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup, where it ranks as one of the top teams in the NCAA bracket headed into the quarter-finals.
QUARTER SCORES: 14-31, 30-58, 44-72, 67-95
LETRAN (67) – Pradela 12, Garupil 11, Rosillo 10, Jumao-As 8, Go 7, Dimaano 5, Galoy 4, Tapenio 4, Alarcon 2, Brillantes 2, Tangkay 2, Baliling 0
DLSU (95) – Cortez 13, Dungo 12, Gollena 12, Pablo 12, Baclaan 9, Gaspay 9, Alian 6, Marasigan 6, Rubico 6, Nwankwo 5, Zamora 3, Policarpio 2, Perez 0, Cortez 0, Romero 0