Colegio de San Juan de Letran proved it has more weapons up its sleeve, flaunting depth and might against Emilio Aguinaldo College with an 82-73 win in NCAA Season 101 on Sunday at the Filoil Centre.
Jun Roque and Chad Gammad proved to be the difference-makers as the Knights solidified their hold of third spot with a 7-5 card while the Generals slipped to 4-7 in Group B.
Gammad fired three three-pointers in the fourth quarter to create the separation the Knights needed before Roque sealed it with a two-handed slam as the Knights bounced back from a previous loss to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Roque turned in his finest outing of the season, firing 15 points on a highly efficient 6-of-8 clip in only 14 minutes, as rookie Gammad chipped in 11 markers and three rebounds.
The win gave Letran a much-needed confidence ahead of its rivalry match against San Beda University in its final elimination game on November 23.
"It says na may mga magse-step up in case na hindi maganda 'yung efficiency [ng usual scorers] on both ends. I'm happy with Jun right now and Chad and Nathan [Montecillo] also," Letran head coach Allen Ricardo said.
EAC relied heavily on rookie EJ Castillo, whose 10 points early in the third period powered an 18-7 run that allowed the Generals to establish a 55-45 lead. But Letran answered with a 14-8 swing sparked by a Roque triple to trail by just four before the fourth, 59-63.
Gammad then took over in the fourth, burying back-to-back three-pointers for a crucial 73-67 advantage while Roque completed a layup off a Mark Omega pass to make it a 75-68 lead in the final 2:24.
The 18-year-old Gammad knocked down another bomb from the rainbow country to extend Letran's lead to a comfortable 78-70 before Roque soared for a two-handed slam to punctuate the victory.
Letran also got solid contributions from usual suspects Deo Cuajao and Kevin Santos, who both tallied 10 points, while Titing Manalili poured nine points and nine assists.
The loss, however, spoiled Castillo's breakout game after dropping a career-high 23 points on top of five assists, four rebounds, and four steals while Jude Bagay and Deo Lucero chipped in 13 and 12 markers apiece.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
