In crunch time, Colegio de San Juan de Letran will always turn to its veterans.
That was what transpired when the Knights fended off a furious fourth quarter fightback from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde as the two-time defending champions got back on winning track in the NCAA Season 98.
"Down the wire, inaalis natin 'yung mga rookies natin lalo na sa fourth quarter, we're giving the veterans 'yung time," shared Letran head coach Bonnie Tan.
"Ayun, I'm happy na nakapag-step kanina 'yung mga veterans natin lalo na sa endgame."
In the dying seconds of the game, Tan opted to go with his veterans in Louie Sangalang, Paolo Javillonar, King Caralipio, and the backcourt duo of Brent Paraiso and Fran Yu.
And they didn't disappoint. After they nearly squandered a 15-point lead, team captain Yu came up with a clutch basket that gave the Knights a 79-75 spread with less than a minute to go.
Sangalang and Caralipio then came up with two big defensive stops before Kurt Reyson and Paraiso split their charities en route to an 81-75 victory.
"Talagang I'm really proud of Louie. Fighter 'yung bata and sa practice pa lang after namin matalo (sa Arellano), talagang makikita mong he wants to bounce back agad kinabukasan," Tan added.
"Looking at this game, talagang mas determined lalo na 'yung mga veterans natin to close out the game with a win."
—JMB, GMA News
