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Letran's Mark Cruz (center) tries to slip past the defense of two Perpetual Help players. Photos by KC Cruz
Colegio de San Juan de Letran rallied late in the game to beat University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, 71-67, in their FilOil Flying V Pre-season Cup game on Wednesday at the San Juan Arena. Jam Cortes held the fort in the absence of the Alas brothers—Kevin and Junjun—notching 15 points and 15 rebounds. Mark Cruz scored 16 despite going 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in 35 minutes of play. Jonathan Belorio added 10 markers. Jett Vidal scored 25 points on 8-of-23 clip, albeit making six of his 13 attempts from downtown. He was the only Alta in double figures, as Femi Babayemi, Anthony Paulino and Joel Jolangcob pitched in eight points each. The Knights, down by one entering the final period, tied the count at 54-all on a Mcjour Luib trey. Cortes drained a jumper from the top of the key and completed an and-one play to cap off Letran's 10-4 spurt.
Jam Cortes (right) tallied 15 points and 15 rebounds to lead Letran against Perpetual Help.
After a Justine Alano basket, Raymond Almazan scored on a tip in to force Perpetual Help to call a time out. Vidal, when play resumed, knocked down consecutive triples to cut the deficit to one, 63-62, with less than three minutes left in the game. Kevin Racal and Cruz made back-to-back baskets for Letran, but the Knights fouled Chris Elopre on a shot attempt. He converted the bonus free throw for a 67-66 score with 59 seconds remaining. But Cruz, taking advantage of the Altas' miscues, fired a 16-foot jumper in transition to put Letran ahead for good. Vidal was fouled on the next inbounds play and split his charities with 19 seconds to go. Almazan and Cortes combined for 30 of Letran's 52 rebounds, while the entire Perpetual Help squad managed to pull down 46 boards. In the first quarter, Perpetual’s Anthony Paulino's undergoal stab broke a 7-all deadlock. Cruz responded with a pair of triples to put the Knights ahead, 13-9. Femi Babayemi responded with a putback off a Vidal miss, but the Altas would go scoreless for the rest of the quarter while Letran put up eight unanswered points. Luib drained another triple for the Knights. Belorio cleaned up Luib's next miss as time expired to end the quarter ahead, 21-12. The lead ballooned to 27-14 after Belorio and Cruz’s consecutive baskets. It was the last time Letran would score in bunches from the field in the second period as Perpetual responded with a 15-2 attack, highlighted by Vidal's back-to-back triples, for a 29-all tally with still over two minutes left in the quarter. Cruz scored on an up and under move to briefly hold the lead, but consecutive turnovers allowed Perpetual Help to score seven straight points to end the half on top, 36-33. Perpetual Help returned invigorated from the break and used another 7-0 run. Vidal drained another trey and Jolangcob scored consecutive baskets, catching Letran off guard and forcing them to call a timeout. With a 2-2 record, the Knights continue to hold on to the fourth spot in Group A play. — JVP, GMA News Scores:
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