Knights, Lions post stirring victories

Games Tomorrow (Mapua gym, Intramuros) 2 p.m. – Mapua vs Perpetual (Jrs) 4 p.m. – Mapua vs Perpetual (Srs)

Letran squeaked past gutsy Emilio Aguinaldo College with an 83-80 victory yesterday for its first win in the 93rd NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Knights held on to their composure after slowly watching their 80-72 lead trimmed down courtesy of back-to-back triples from Jerome Garcia before leaning on their defensive stops at crunch time to improve their win-loss record to 1-1.

It was a fitting win for Letran, which is still reeling from a stinging 78-75 opening-game loss to Mapua.

EAC had a chance to extend the match in the final 6.5 seconds, but Jerrick Balanza’s defense on Jethro Mendoza’s buzzer-beating three-point attempt sealed the win for Letran.

In the other game, San Beda regained its old fiery form as the Red Lions clobbered the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 76-52.

The Red Lions led for most parts of the match, leaning on a strong second quarter where they outscored the Blazers, 21-9.

Javee Mocon scored 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, even as Robert Bolick finished with nine points, 11 boards, six assists and two steals for San Beda, which erased the stigma of its heartbreaking 96-91 defeat to Lyceum last Friday.

Later in the day, Kent Salado drained a game-winning floater with 0.3 ticks left as Arellano escaped Jose Rizal University, 73-72, in overtime.

It was the Chiefs' second win in two games, while the Bombers slipped to 1-2.

"It's a character buildup for us, this game," said Arellano Coach Jerry Codiñera. "We had to go to Salado (on that final play), and we were able to execute it."