Three-peat-seeking Colegio de San Juan de Letran overcame a slow start and peaked just in time to extend its mastery of last season’s runner-up Mapua University, 67-62, in the NCAA Season 98 on Tuesday.
Fran Yu led the Knights with game-highs of 15 points - including a clutch triple with 46 seconds remaining - five assists, and three steals while big man Paolo Javillonar added 14 points of his own for Letran.
Brian Lacap led Mapua with 12 markers alongside four rebounds and three steals.
Down 50-48 in the fourth, Letran ignited for a 12-0 spurt led by foul-plagued big man Louie Sangalang as they took a 60-50 cushion. Brian Lacap’s back-to-back baskets cut the Cardinals' deficit down to two, 61-59, with 1:11 to go
But a huge three-pointer from Yu with the shot clock running down saw Letran back up with a crucial five-point cushion, 64-59, inside the final minute.
The win stretched Letran’s win streak to two as they improved to 3-1 while Mapua absorbed its fourth loss in a row to drop to 1-4.
It was a sluggish start for both teams with Letran only making one field goal in the first quarter, which ended with Mapua enjoying a 15-10 lead.
But with Letran struggling to connect from the field, role players Kobe Monje and King Caralipio stepped up to the plate in the second quarter to trail by one, 33-32, at the half.
Both teams also committed a number of fouls as Mapua had already 18 after the half while Letran had 13, four of which came from Sangalang and three from Brent Paraiso, who was eventually slapped with a disqualifying foul late in the fourth.
A triple from Paolo Hernandez then capped off a tight third quarter as the Cardinals maintained their lead heading to the fourth, 48-46.
But the defending champions came alive in the fourth to bag their third win.
Caralipio finished with eight points and 11 rebounds while Kurt Reyson also scored eight, though he went just 1-for-8 from the field and did most of his damage from the free throw line.
Jasper Salenga was the only other Cardinal in double-digits besides Lacap. He scored 11 points, all of them coming in the first half.
The scores:
Letran 67 - Yu 15, Javillonar 14, Caralipio 8, Reyson 8, Monje 7, Sangalang 6, Paraiso 5, Santos 3, Olivario 1, Miclat 0, Tolentino 0.
Mapua 62 - Lacap 12, Salenga 11, Hernandez 9, Nocum 8, Pido 6, Soriano 6, Bonifacio 4, Gamboa 4, Parinas 2, Garcia 0, Igliane 0.
Quarters: 10-15, 32-33, 46-48, 67-62.
—JMB, GMA News
