George Diamante was two assists shy of a triple-double outing as Colegio de San Juan de Letran fended off Lyceum of the Philippines University, 88-79, in the NCAA Season 99 juniors basketball tournament on Wednesday.
The second year bruiser displayed his dominance on both ends, finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds on top of eight assists, four steals, and one block as the defending champions Squires improved to 3-1.
Diamante played a crucial role for Letran, which had to buck a shaky start after trailing by as much as 13 points early in the first quarter before they went on a second quarter rampage, pouring in 31 points while limiting the Junior Pirates to just 10 to take a 54-50 halftime lead.
However, the hungry LPU squad rallied in the second half after trimming their deficit to just two, 63-61, late in the third.
Thanks to Letran's bench barrage, the Squires were able to hold off Lyceum's comeback attempt with second stringers Jolo Navarro and Alex Gazzingan providing the spark off the bench.
Navarro sank two charities to send Letran to an 84-71 cushion with 2:05 left before Gazzingan and Arwin Alforque's back-to-back baskets put the lid on the win.
Jonathan Manalili, who was fouled out late in the fourth, and Jovel Baliling both tallied 15 points while Navarro finished with nine markers and seven rebounds.
Kyle Timbol topscored Lyceum with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four steals while Ranniel Sayaman chipped in 16 markers, but their efforts went for naught as they sank to a 0-4 hole.
Earlier, San Sebastian College-Recoletos recovered from a previous loss after pulling off a 73-64 win against gutsy Emilio Aguinaldo College to get back on track in the tourney.
Jhun Penaverde poured in an all-around performance of 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals while Ruvic Danag chipped in 13 markers, four boards, and four dimes as the Staglets improved to 3-1. EAC, on the other hand, absorbed its third straight loss to go 1-3.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
