Colegio de San Juan de Letran flaunted its offensive firepower early but had to weather a late rally by Emilio Aguinaldo College before clinching an 83-62 victory in the NCAA Season 97 men's basketball tournament on Wednesday.
The Knights squandered a double-digit lead late in the fourth, allowing the Generals to come to within six, 68-62, but they leaned on the heroics of guard Fran Yu who knocked down two three-pointers and one long basket to give them an 82-62 spread with 1:15 left. Letran closed the game on a 15-0 run.
Brent Paraiso and Kurt Reyson led the Knights with 15 points and four assists apiece while Rhenz Abando added 14 markers.
Yu finished with 11 points, including three triples, while Louis Sanagalang had team-highs of seven rebounds and five blocks.
The defending champions improved to a clean 6-0 card while EAC dropped to 3-4 to snap a two-game winning streak.
The backcourt duo of Reyson and Paraiso led the Knights' first half rally with Reyson dropping 11 and Paraiso converting 10 in the first two quarters as they led the Generals with a sizeable halftime cushion, 44-25.
King Caralipio’s putback shot late in the second also gave Letran its biggest lead in the first half, 42-22.
The third quarter basically saw Letran putting in the finishing kicks with Abando, who already produced 10 points in the first half, nailing a three-pointer that handed them a huge 62-39 cushion.
The penultimate frame ended with Letran and EAC separated by 19 points, 63-44.
EAC, however, mounted a fightback in the payoff period with the Generals detonating for an 18-5 run to inch closer by six, 62-68, but Yu, who steered Letran to a win against Lyceum last Sunday, again came out in the clutch.
Nat Cosejo led EAC with 13 points and nine boards while JP Maguliano notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Letran's next assignment is against the hungry Jose Rizal University while EAC next tackles Arellano University on Sunday.
—JMB, GMA News
