NCAA: Mapua outlasts Letran in OT to extend streak to four

Mapua University weathered Colegio de San Juan de Letran's comeback bid after surrendering a 15-point lead before grinding out a 69-67 overtime victory in NCAA Season 102 on Monday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.

Rookie Lance Nitura came alive in the extra period as the Cardinals capitalized on the Knights' woeful free-throw shooting to escape with the narrow victory. The win marked Mapua's second straight overtime triumph and extended its winning streak to four games, improving its record to 4-3 in Group A.

Letran, which also had the same free throw shooting problem against rival San Beda, has now lost three of its last four games to go 4-3 as well in Group B.

"It's a grind-out game, it's a close game until the end and thanks to all the breaks of the game," Mapua head coach Chito Victolero said.

"All the sacrifices, all the tough losses, we learned a lot from those. I always tell them that there may be a reason why we lost [our first three games]."

After snapping a three-game losing streak with three consecutive wins, the Cardinals were determined to keep their momentum going against a Letran side playing without its top guard, Titing Manalili.

Mapua controlled much of the game and built a 53-38 lead in the third quarter, but Letran leaned on its own rookie sensation, Justin Cargo, to spark a comeback. Cargo delivered two baskets and dished out a pair of assists to help the Knights trim the deficit to just four, 53-49, heading into the final frame.

Cargo continued to make his presence felt in the fourth, coming up with a steal that he converted into a layup to give Letran its first taste of the lead at 59-58 late in the game. The former Squires standout then came up with a defensive stop, forcing Mapua into a shot-clock violation and setting up Justine Hugo's two free throws that stretched the Knights' lead to 61-58 with 56.2 seconds remaining.

But Ivan Lazarte completed a three-point play to force a 61-all deadlock. Cargo had a chance to seal the win for Letran in regulation, but lost possession on the final play, sending both teams into the extra period.

Nitura then shone when it mattered most.

The former Perpetual high school star scored on a putback before dishing an inbound pass to his older brother Cyrus that sent Mapua to a 65-63 lead.

The younger Nitura finally found his range from beyond the arc, knocking down his first triple of the game to give Mapua a 68-64 lead in overtime. Sebastian Reyes then split his free throws to push the Cardinals ahead, 69-65, with 38.1 seconds remaining.

Hugo answered with a floater off a Chad Gammad pass, but the Knights failed to find another basket down the stretch as Mapua held on to escape with another nail-biting victory.

Nitura finished with 11 points, matching the output of teammates Yam Concepcion, Cyrus Cuenco, Jamal Diaz, and Ivan Lazarte, who also scored 11 points apiece for the Cardinals.

Gammad led Letran with 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting from deep while Cargo had 10 markers, eight assists, and four rebounds in another display of his all-around game.

—JMB, GMA News