Colegio de San Juan de Letran is back on top of high school hoops after sweeping Arellano University with a 91-88 Game 2 overtime win in the NCAA Season 101 juniors basketball on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Squires survived the gritty stand from the Braves to claim their third title in four seasons, making up for their Final Four exit last edition.
Nathan Egea came up big in the clutch, scoring all of his 10 points in the extra period to extinguish the Braves. He also poured in five rebounds and three assists.
With Egea providing the finishing touches, Justin Cargo took care of business in regulation as he finished with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds while Alvin Villanueva chipped in 13 markers, including the cold-blooded triple that sent the game into overtime.
The Braves, who have once survived a double-overtime affair in the semifinals, refused to back down in the fourth with newly-crowned MVP Sean Franco splitting his free throws to bring Arellano to a 74-71 lead.
But Villanueva came up big with a corner three-pointer to tie things up and force the overtime.
Letran made sure there was no letup this time as Egea took matters into his own hands, scoring Letran’s first seven points in OT, highlighted by a three-point play that sent them to an 83-76 cushion.
Ray Ladica, though, breathed some life into Arellano with back-to-back triples that pulled them to within one, 83-82, with 2:07 left.
Axel Mendoza knotted the game at 88-all with a huge three-pointer from the right wing, but a Travis Pascual layup and a Villanueva split nailed it for Letran.
The loss spoiled Ladica’s 37-point outing as Franco and Mendoza chimed in with 17 and 16 markers each.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
