Brent Paraiso spearheaded Colegio de San Juan de Letran's second quarter rally en route to a lopsided 81-59 victory over Jose Rizal University that allowed them to remain undefeated in the NCAA Season 97 on Saturday.
With the win, Letran has become the lone team who has yet to absorb a loss at 7-0 while JRU formally bowed out of play-in contention with a 1-7 win-loss card.
Paraiso scored all 12 of his points, including three three-pointers, in a dominating first half performance for the Knights as they built a 35-18 lead.
He would come in to play to play a little over four minutes in the third quarter, where he dished out three assists before sitting down the rest of the way with the game well in hand.
He played a total of only 16 minutes and 42 seconds but shot 4-for-5 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in a big showing.
Teammate Jeo Ambohot also had a strong performance with 14 points and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes and 42 seconds of action. Neither Ambohot nor Paraiso played in the fourth quarter.
The first period was a low-scoring affair with Letran holding a slim 12-6 lead. But they unleashed a huge second quarter barrage behind the sniping of Paraiso, who scored 10 of the team's 23 points in the quarter.
The Knights closed the period on an 18-4 run to take a 17-point advantage to the halftime break.
Everything simply went right for Letran in the third, even leading by as much as 24 points, 44-20, after they opened the frame with a 9-6 run led by Louie Sangalang. With JRU misfiring, Letran enjoyed a comfortable 59-39 heading to the final quarter.
With the work done early, Paraiso didn't need to return as their supporting cast held things down in the endgame. A Rhenz Abando dunk gave Letran a 72-39 cushion as they limited JRU to only five field goals in the fourth
Letran still has two assignments left in the eliminations, San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Tuesday and San Beda University on Friday. JRU, meanwhile, will fight for pride on Wednesday against Arellano University.
The scores:
Letran 81 - Ambohot 14, Paraiso 12, Abando 12, Mina 9, Sangalang 7, Tolentino 7, Fajarito 6, Javillonar 6, Reyson 5, Ariar 2, Yu 1, Olivario 0, Caralipio 0, Guarino 0, Lantaya 0.
JRU 59 - Macatangay 11, Celis 11, Bongay 8, Aguilar 6, G. Gonzales 4, Aguado 3, Agbong 3, C. Gonzales 3, Dionisio 2, Arenal 1, JUngco 1, Estrella 1, Dela Rama 1, Delos Santos 0.
Quarters: 12-6, 35-18, 59-39, 81-59.
—JMB, GMA News
