Veterans Daniel Padilla and Syrex Silorio showed the way as Colegio de San Juan de Letran halted the streaking Emilio Aguinaldo College with a lopsided 73-54 victory in the NCAA Season 100 juniors basketball tournament on Monday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
Padilla picked up where he left off last game as he once again top-scored with 17 points together with two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block while Silorio led their third quarter breakaway and finished with 12 markers, eight boards, four dimes, one steal, and one block.
The Squires have now secured their back-to-back wins to improve to 3-2 while the Brigadiers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end to slide to a similar 3-2 card.
Letran pulled away for good in the third quarter after catching fire from downtown with Silorio, Daniel Quijada, Daryl Valdeavilla, and Justin Cargo conniving for five three-pointers in that frame as they turned a slim 35-29 halftime lead to a 59-46 cushion before the fourth.
Adrian Quinones then joined in on the three-point shootout, burying two consecutive triples to extend Letran's lead to 67-46 early in the payoff period.
EAC, which was coming off three wins in a row against Arellano University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, and Jose Rizal University, tried to mount a rally with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 13, 67-54, with 2:25 to go.
But Padilla put the icing on the cake by completing back-to-back baskets that ultimately gave Letran the convincing victory.
EJ Castillo shone for EAC in the loss with 18 points laced with five rebounds, three assists, and one steal while Kelly Coronel put up 11 markers, five boards, and four steals.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
