Nambatac unloads 31 as Knights rout Blazers

Games Today (The Arena, San Juan City) 8 a.m. – JRU vs San Beda (Jrs) 10 a.m. – Perpetual vs Lyceum (Jrs) 12 noon – JRU vs San Beda (Srs) 2 p.m. – Perpetual vs Lyceum (Srs) 4 p.m. – SSCR vs Mapua (Srs) 6 p.m. – SSCR vs Mapua (Jrs)

Spitfire Rey Nambatac came up with a huge game as Letran turned back gritty College of St. Benilde, 9278, yesterday in the 93rd NCAA men’s basketball at the Letran gym in Intramuros, Manila.

The 5-foot-11 veteran point guard torched the basket with a season-high 31 points on a 10-of-23 field goal shooting to steer the Knights to their second consecutive victory and third in six outings.

Nambatac capped his performance by also collaring 11 rebounds, dishing off five assists and making two steals in 32 minutes.

The Knights fought through six deadlocks and nine lead changes – the last at the start of the fourth period after a Bong Quinto jumper gave them a 6866 lead.

That gave Letran the needed push as Quinto and Nambatac orchestrated an 11-0 run to break away for a 77-66 advantage and the Knights never looked back.

JJ Domingo and Unique Naboa’s late triples for the Blazers failed to douse Letran’s fire as the Knights dictated the tempo until the final buzzer.

“Alam ko naman ang Benilde, hindi yan susuko. Siguro sa simula, gustong magpasikat ng mga bata dahil homecourt namin ito, pero nung bumalik kami sa drawing board, dun kami nagising,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa.

Meanwhile, La Salle-Greenhills survived host Letran’s last-minute rally to escape with a 64-63 victory yesterday to remain unbeaten in the juniors division.

Leading 64-59 in the final three minutes, the Greenies saw the Squires mount a comeback spearheaded by Keifer Cordero to trim the gap to 64-63 before the latter ran out of time despite three field goal attempts in the dying seconds.

Nambatac 31, Quinto 14, Pascual 12, Ambohot 11, Balanza 8, Calvo 5, Bernabe 3, Caralipio 3, Balagasay 2, Gedaria 2, Taladua 1, Vacaro 0, Pamulaklakin 0, Mandreza 0. Naboa 17, Leutcheu 12, Belgica 10, Domingo 9, Castor 7, Sta. Maria 7, Bunyi 6, Dixon 5, Johnson 3, San Juan 2. Quarters: 14-21; 43-38; 66-66; 92-78.