FilOil: Knights take one over Saints, stay in quarterfinals hunt

The Colegio De San Juan de Letran Knights picked up their second win in the FilOil Flying V-Hanes Premier Cup after staving off the St. Clare Saints, 83-79, on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Knights keep their quarterfinals hope alive as they even their record at 2-2 in Group B play, while the Saints slump to 1-4, still sitting at number five and out of postseason contention.
 

Letran piled up as much as 18 points on their opponents in the first quarter but found themselves in a close fight in the fourth, where the Saints forced five deadlocks in the last three minutes of play. As the scoreboard read 79-all, Ray Nambatac drove to the lane and had the ball poked away, but Jamil Gabawan picked up the loose change and converted on a nifty hook, 81-79.

The Saints missed their last attempt as Marte Gil's triple rimmed out, and the Knights escaped St. Clare's grindhouse to keep them at .500.

“These are NAASCU finalists,” said Letran coach Caloy Garcia after the game. “We came here to learn and I gave everyone an opportunity to play. Sabi ko sa second half hindi ako tatawag ng timeout dahil gusto ko silang matuto. They have to decide on their own kasi pagdating sa NCAA, limited lang ang timeout, at the same time may mga TV timeouts.

“What I want to happen in the FilOil is for the boys to learn how to think.”

 

Letran's offense resembled a well-oiled machine early, finding the open shooter and opting for high-efficiency shots, while the Saints stumbled out of the gate to a 12-point deficit, 14-2. The NCAA runners-up pushed the lead to 18 as St. Clare struggled to find open looks against a zone. Saints point guard Marte Gil found the touch from downtown, swishing in two treys and helping his team hack away at the lead as they cut the deficit to 11 points after the first canto, 28-17.

 

The Saints continued chipping away at the lead, going hard in the paint to draw fouls and score on put-backs as they watered the lead down to eight points, 30-22. The Knights quickly staved off the run, as Ford Ruaya hit a triple which restored the buffer to double-digits, 33-22. St. Clare's offense showed signs of life though, as the Saints carved out eight straight points from second-chances and the charity stripe as the scoreboard read 41-37 heading to the second half.

 

Cruz fired 12 first half points while Nambatac added seven of his own. The Knights were shooting a high clip (79 percent) from inside the arc but were beaten on second chance points, 4-15.

 

Gil netted eight first-half points followed by Jamito and Redoh Favien with six apiece. The Saints shot a characteristic 37 percent from the floor, making up for it with 15 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. The Saints outclassed the Knights in the rebounding department, 21-13.

 

Letran gained a 10-point separation from their foes early in the third after a split from Felix Apreku, 51-41, a spread which lingered between eight to ten points until  St. Clare started to wax hot again from downtown. Elmer Managuelod, Jason Ibarra, and Gil all hit three's for their side as they trimmed the lead to just four, 58-54. A free throw from Jamil Gabawan sealed the quarter for the Knights, whose 18-point lead now shrank to five, 59-54,

 

Nambatac and his comrades gambled for steals and pushed the ball in transition to neutralise St. Clare's zone, a tactic which worked as they put up an 11-point lead, 68-57. Ibay spurred a 16-3 run midway through the fourth which handed them their first lead of the game, 73-71. Free throws from Fidel Castro stopped the bleeding and the Knights regained the lead after four straight points from Cruz and Gabawan, 77-75.

 

A basket from Favien knotted the game at 77-77, the third of four deadlocks. The Knights finally broke the tie after the ball found itself in Gabawan's hands, leading to the hoop and the harm. Gabawan flubbed the free throw but Gil missed a Hail Mary from the top of the arc as Nambatac wrapped up Letran's second win with charities, 83-79.

"Napakagandang play noon para sa amin," Gabawan later said jokingly. "Nice pass, may kasama pang foul."

Guard Mark Cruz sizzled with 19 points while Rey Nambatac helped with 15 points and six rebounds. Though Letran lost in the battle of the boards, they made up for it by hitting their shots at an efficient clip of 51 percent while adding 19 points from the line.

Gil stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Jason Ibay tallied 13 points. Jam Jamito added 12 points and seven boards. Redoh Favien chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

 

The Saints (1-4) play their last game of the tournament against the idle Mapua Cardinals (0-4) while the Knights (2-2) have a chance to prevent the Lyceum Pirates (3-2) from entering the quarterfinals as they face off this Friday at 12:30pm. - JDL, GMA News 


The scores:

CSJL - Cruz 19, Nambatac 15, Gabawan 8, Quinto 8, Publico 8, Ruaya 5, Apreku 5, SIngontiko 5, Castro 4, Calvo 4, Luib 2, Sumalacay 0, Saldua 0, Po 0

SCC - Gil 18, Ibay 13, Jamito 12, Redoh 10, Bolos 8, Ibarra 5, Lunor 5, Managuelod 5, Acebron 3, Fongue 0, Dulalia 0

Quarter scoring: 28-17, 41-37, 59-54, 83-79