KNIGHTS HOLD OFF GENERALS; WINNING FOR ALTAS IS EZE
Games tomorrow 10 a.m. – LPU vs AU (jrs); 12 nn. – SSCR vs San Beda (jrs) 2 p.m. – LPU vs AU (srs); 4 p.m. – SSCR vs San Beda (srs)
Letran went to its shock troopers when its main men struggled as the Knights repulsed the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 91-82, to firm up their hold of the third spot in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.
Nico Galvelo turned in his best scoring effort since he took over the spot of starter Jerrick Balanza, firing 15 points while Jeremiah Taladua and Fran Yu came off the bench to fire careerhighs of 15 and 13 points, respectively, powering the Knights to their ninth victory against four losses.
The troika’s strong showing made up for the struggles of John Quinto and JP Calvo, who wound up with just nine and five points, respectilvey, after coming into the game with averages of 15.1 points.
Quinto and Calvo muffed a total of 20 out of 24 field goal shots.
Good thing Galvelo and the bench stepped up big.
“I like this win because our bench showed up,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa.
The Generals, who were led by Jerome Garcia’s 20 points, fell to their 11th defeat against two wins.
Up by just four points at the half, the Knights went to Taladua and Yu, who sparked a series of runs in the second half that broke the game open, 67-54, after three quarters.
Perpetual Help later scored a followup to its stunning reversal over erstwhile unbeaten Lyceum of the Philippines U as it warded off Jose Rizal U, 85-73, to tie idle St. Benilde at fourth at 8-5.
AJ Coronel and Jielo Razon scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, while Prince Eze, who delivered the marginal putback in their come-from-behind 83-81 win over the Pirates, dished off a double-double game of 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Altas regained their spot in the Magic Four.
Blackwater eyes win No. 5 as the Ever Bilena franchise seeks to sustain its breakthrough run against the NLEX squad that will be reunited with coach Yeng Guiao in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. Meanwhile, Magnolia and Rain or Shine both look to bounce back from a loss as they square off at 7 p.m., after the 4:30 p.m. setto between the Elite and the Road Warriors. Blackwater is left as the only team with a clean slate in the season-ending tourney with wins over TNT KaTropa (104-98), San Miguel Beer (103-100), NorthPort (113-111) and Barangay Ginebra (124-118). And coach Bong Ramos believes those victories are for real.
Guiao is also convinced that Blackwater has blossomed into a tough contender.
“I’m excited to get back to competitive coaching with NLEX after almost three months. The problem is we are facing the hottest team in the league right now. Preparation needs to be at your best if we are to avoid being their next victim,” said Guiao.
Back with NLEX after handling the national team in the Jakarta Asian Games and in the most recent window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, Guiao said they have to neutralize Henry Walker and must defend Blackwater’s three-point shooting if they’re to rebound from a 112-125 loss to San Miguel Beer in their last outing last Sept. 1.
“Henry Walker has done a great job of leading his team to contention. Their three-point shooting is a headache for all teams. We have to lower their efficiency and prevent Walker from dictating the tempo. He makes those around him look better because he attracts a lot of attention,” said Guiao.
Walker, who has played under Guiao at NLEX before moving over to Blackwater, has been among the top performing imports in the tourney.
An import that has also played with Alaska Milk, Walker said his aim in his latest PBA tour of duty is to win the championship.