Letran def. Mapúa, 85-82.
Losing three straight served as impetus for Letran’s ultimate recovery and comeback.
Coach Allen Ricardo and the Letran Knights found themselves in a precarious situation when they kicked off their Season 101 campaign with three losses.
But with their 85-82 OT takedown of Mapúa, they had dashed to a 4-0 streak looking like a team reborn whose fate had completely about-faced for the better.
The game went back and forth in regulation as both teams exchanged quarter scoring outbursts.
The Knights owned the first (25-12) and the fourth (25-16), while the Cardinals won the second (26-16) and the third frames (24-12) which led to a 78-all deadlock that sent them to overtime.
Burly big man AJ Buensalida was an immovable force in the paint, pouring in 16 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in his most productive outing so far donning the Letran uniform.
The 6-foot-5 Davaoeño shot with an impressive 70% field goal clip, earning him the best player of the game nod.
Jimboy Estrada still topped all scorers with 20 markers, atoning the bad percentage by going aggressive and earning most of his points from the freebie line.
Letran’s win spoiled an eruptive performance from Mapúa transferee Cyrus Nitura, who turned up offensively for the Cardinals with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 assists.
LPU def. JRU, 78-76.
LPU finally found their luck as the Pirates sailed into their first NCAA Season 101 after outlasting the gritty JRU Heavy Bombers.
John Barba captained the breakthrough dub with 15 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists, helping the Pirates avoid a troublesome 0-5 hole that would’ve worsened their already dire situation.
Renz Villegas, Jonathan Daileg, and JM Versoza provided strong support as the Gilbert Malabanan-coached squad bullied their way in the paint.
Villegas dropped 14 markers on 6-for-6 free throw shooting, Daileg had 11, while Versoza added 10.
Veteran JRU marksman Shawn Argente led all scorers with 26, but just could not pull down the victory in the endgame.
The Heavy Bombers team captain detonated 6 long-range bombs– half of the 12 total threes drained by the promising young squad of Coach Nani Epondulan.
Stephen Garupil also had an efficient afternoon with 17 points on 50% field goal shooting, while sophomore Justine Lozano chipped in 12 points and 4 boards.
Benilde def. San Sebastian, 82-64.
Allen Liwag wasted no time in his much-awaited return, using his size and strength to wilfully impose dominance against the bigs of San Sebastian.
Liwag, coming off a three-game layoff due to an illness, willed the green-and-white of Taft with best player of the game numbers: 19 points and 7 rebounds on a hyper-efficient 75% field goal shooting while playing limited minutes for Coach Charles Tiu.
The win was a welcome scene for the mean, green, well-oiled machine of Benilde as they avenged their previous Arellano stumble by getting into their offensive groove.
Justine Sanchez, one of Season 101’s best scorers with an 18.67 average, had a double-double afternoon with 16 markers and 11 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals.
Matthew Oli also poured in 10 points in only 15 minutes of play, while John Morales and Jio Gonzaga were surprise contributors for the Blazers with 9 and 6 points, respectively.
Six-foot-two rookie sensation Jhuniel Dela Rama continued his impressive play for the Golden Stags, dropping yet another double-double for Coach Rob Labagala– 20 points and 12 rebounds– in the losing effort.
Graduating captain TJ Felebrico raked in 12 points, while Ralph Gabat and Christian Ricio had 9 apiece.
Perpetual def. EAC, 69-60.
John Abis was a captain on a mission in Perpetual’s win over EAC, hitting big shots in crunch time to deliver the Altas’ sixth win of the season.
The graduating team captain raked in team-high registers 15 points and 8 rebounds, laced with 2 assists and a steal, in his best player of the game performance.
The Altas had to overcome a sluggish start that saw the Generals earn a commanding 25-15 first quarter advantage, but they came back gun-slinging in the second frame as they climbed back to 37-38 right before huddling up at halftime.
The pro-bound Abis scored 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting in the clutch scattered through timely buckets that gave Perpetual a comfortable cushion late in the final frame.
Sophomore star Mark Gojo Cruz had 12 points to contribute, while steady shotmaker JP Boral added 10 points and 6 rebounds in only 18 minutes of play,.
Wilmar Oftana and Deo Lucero led the charge for the Generals with 18 and 12, respectively, while Jude Bagay was also in double figures with 10.
The Altas outrebounded (51-37) and outassisted (21-14) the Generals, who were without Coach Jerson Cabiltes during the game, en route to their sixth win in Season 101.
San Beda def. Arellano, 76-53.
Group B leader San Beda continued to reign supreme in what many consider as the pool of death, ravaging Arellano with its offensively potent and star-laden roster.
Janti Miller looked like himself in San Beda’s sixth win, tallying a game-high 20 points to go along with 7 boards and two threes.
It was Zedjay Etulle's swiss-knife act, however, that earned the best player of the game nod, as he made his presence felt from both ends of the floor and padded the box score with 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.
The Red Lions also benefited from across-the-board scoring contributions– a total of 12 players scored at least a bucket for Coach Yuri Escueta.
San Beda also outrebounded (60-47) and outassisted (19-13) the Chiefs en route to the wire-to-wire win.
Arellano leader and former NCAA player of the week T-Mc Ongotan was arrhythmic all throughout the contest and only drained 5 from his 18 field goal attempts, but still top-scored for the struggling Chiefs with 14 points.
New recruit Anjord Cabotaje totalled 10 points and 5 rebounds in the losing cause, while CJ Libang had 7 and 8.
JRU def. Mapúa, 66-63.
JRU dedicated their nail-biter victory over the defending champions to comrade Justin Lozano who had to be stretchered out after a hard fall in the fourth quarter.
Lozano, attempting to swat a fastbreak lay from Cyrus Nitura, got up high but lost his balance on the way down as his head hit the deck hard that resulted in the versatile sophomore’s momentary loss of consciousness.
Lozano was doing well prior to his fall, scattering 13 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals to his name in only 17 minutes of play.
The Heavy Bombers rallied behind rookie Allan Laurenaria’s endgame heroics who also delivered 13 points and 7 rebounds.
JC Recto and Cyril Gonzales were the only silver lining for the skidding Mapúa Cardinals, scoring 15 and 14, respectively.
Former Perpetualite Cyrus Nitura played heavy minutes for Coach Randy Alcantara but was only able to provide 9 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
Former league MVP Clint Escamis endured another difficult night as he only tallied 2 markers to his name, shooting a single field goal from 7 attempts.
EAC def. LPU, 84-75.
Four Generals scored in double digits, supercharged by team captain Nico Quinal’s 18 points, as EAC commanded the charge in their slugfest against LPU.
The sharpshooting team captain had 4 threes en route to 18 points, while Oman Omandac also had a sweet-sniping afternoon and contributed 17 on 4-for-8 from long distance.
Deo Lucero and Jude Bagay provided stable support for the Generals, collecting 14 and 10, respectively.
LPU’s valiant stand saw four Pirates score in double figures but just could not get sizable help from its supporting cast.
Renz Villegas led the charge with 18, while John Barba, Jonathan Daileg, and Joshua Moralejo had 16 points apiece.
EAC caused chaos on the defensive end and forced the Pirates to commit 16 turnovers while converting 23 points off the mistakes.
Perpetual def. Benilde. 75-73.
Mark Gojo Cruz is a super sophomore for a reason.
Nicknamed ‘Air Gojo’ for his high-flying dipsy-doos and up-and-unders, dug deep from his bag of tricks to star for Perpetual as they eked out a hard-fought win against Benilde.
Gojo Cruz dropped 19 points and 6 boards in his first career win over the Blazers.
Never mind the Perpetual homegrown’s gravity-defying aerial stunts, Gojo Cruz’ main act was his premium efficiency, scoring 9-for-12 from the field with 6 boards, an assist, and a steal.
Three-and-D guy Josiah Alcantara added 12 points laced with 4 triples, while Ray Maglupay had 8.
Allen Liwag had his usual double-double afternoon, dropping 21 points and 11 boards to lead the Blazers in the losing effort.
Letran def. Arellano 83-65.
Letran continued his vengeful run with a wire-to-wire abolition of Arellano that extended their winning streak to five games.
Coach Allen Ricardo has the entire team to commend as the Knights continued their peaking dominance in Season 101.
Team captain Mark Omega led the charge with a double-double of 18 points and 12 boards laced with an assist and a steal, while also getting steady help from fellow big man Kevin Santos who had an equally impactful 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Midrange maestro Jimboy Estrada chipped in 15 points, while Cebuano rookie Jonathan Manalili had another stellar afternoon facilitating the offense for Letran and dished out 11 assists to go along with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
High-flyer Renzo Abiera Abiera top-scored for the Chiefs with 15 points, while Vinoya added 14 in the losing effort.
San Beda def. San Sebastian, 62-50.
Janti Miller was his usual self during San Beda’s obliteration of San Sebastian, registering an erstwhile career-high 24 points alongside six rebounds and two treys that powered the Red Lions in collecting their fourth straight victory.
Miller sizzled San Sebastian with pull-up jumpers and aggressive drives, while Jomel Puno muscled his way inside and chipped in a double-double of 10 markers and 17 boards.
The Group B leaders were in command for most of the contest, but saw the Golden Stags mount a bit of a fightback in the fourth as the latter trimmed down the lead to only eight.
Miller dropped– as he usually would– timely buckets to extinguish the fire, making sure to keep their adversaries at bay and cruise to a double-digit win against the skidding San Sebastian, who were led by Jhuniel Dela Rama’s 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The win reinforced San Beda’s dominance in what fans call the ‘group of death.’
Mapúa def. EAC, 85-78.
In what felt like a crucial situation for Mapúa, the reigning NCAA champions mustered up an important victory over EAC, snapping a three-game skid to remain steady at second in Group A.
Coach Randy Alcantara welcomed the win with a big smile, crediting the much-desired return of superstar Clint Escamis to his MVP form.
The former Rookie-MVP finally found his touch and atoned for his shooting woes in the recent outings, barreling into EAC’s defense and coming up with a best player of the game showing with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
The Mapua superstar had a decent 7-for-15 field goal shooting and drained 5 of his 6 free throws as he paced the Cardinals to their fourth win in Season 101 against four losses. Four Cardinals also scored in double figures to help the cause.
Former Red Robin Cyril Gonzales chipped in 14 markers off the bench, while athletic wing Yam Concepcion (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) and stretch forward JC Recto (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) had sizeable doleouts for Coach Randy Alcantara.
Brianne Angeles towed the Generals with 13 points and 6 boards, while Jude Bagay, Deo Lucero, and EJ Castillo provided 12, 11, and 10 markers respectively.
The much-desired win was a welcome scene for Coach Randy Alcantara and his boys who were spurring to come back from consecutive stumbles in the hands of JRU, Letran, and San Beda
Benilde def. LPU, 70-67.
As jacked as the Benilde Blazers’ lineup is, it remains clear that Allen Liwag is THE centerpiece of his squad.
During their 70-67 uprising against LPU, the reigning DPOY-MVP from Cavite lorded over in the fourth quarter en route to a game-high 16 points and 8 rebounds, steering the Benilde fightback as they notch their fifth win in #NCAA101.
It was an uphill climb for the Blazers who had to overcome a 16-point deficit after being at a disadvantage for most of the game.
Trailing the Pirates by six at the start of the fourth, the 6-foot-6 star center immediately went to work and scattered half of his 16-point output on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting to overtake LPU.
Fellow big man Shawn Umali provided steady help with 11 points and 7 boards, while Josh Cajucom served as Benilde’s’ spark plug, hitting 9 points and 2 rebounds in only 11 minutes of play.
Veteran point guard Winston Ynot also had an impactful showing for Coach Charles Tiu, padding the stat sheet with 8 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists in an all-around effort.
The Pirates were in control for most of the ballgame, but squandered a double-digit advantage as they could not contain Benilde’s late game rally.
Renz Villegas charged the Pirates’ offense, collecting 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Omar Gordon was a surprise contributor with 11 points in only eight minutes of action.
San Sebastian def. Letran, 82-81.
The son of Ormoc, Leyte continues his sensational rookie campaign in NCAA Season 101.
Jhuniel Dela Rama’s calling card is his insatiable appetite on the boards.
But in San Sebastian’s stunner against Letran, the rebounding league-leader hit the game-winning jumper to give San Sebastian its second win in NCAA Season 101.
Fighting tooth and nail with the Knights in the fourth quarter, the Golden Stags found themselves hanging by a thread after a loose ball foul was called on team captain TJ Felebrico that sent Letran big man Kevin Santos to the free throw line.
Santos split his charities, putting Letran up by one with 11.2 seconds remaining, which was all the time Dela Rama needed to pull off one last trick.
Dela Rama, who won a high school chip with Letran in Season 99, was stellar on both ends of the floor against his former school, tallying 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals with only a single turnover to earn the best player of the game nod.
Oneil Castor also had himself a breakthrough performance, scoring a team-high 22 points laced with an efficient 4-for-7 three-point shooting, while Cotabateño rookie Ian Cuajao fired 13 points to help the cause.
Letran fought back in the fourth to drag the game into the trenches, led by an offensively aggressive Jonathan Manalili who surprisingly switched to attack mode instead of his usual facilitator-type play style.
The Cebuano rookie led all scorers with 26 points on 53.3% field goal shooting and went 10-for-15 from the free throw line to go along with 10 boards and 5 assists, but could not deliver the win for his squad.
Perpetual def. San Beda
After a playoff-esque triple overtime slugfest between the Group A and Group B kingpins, it’s become more apparent that Perpetual might be the team to beat in #NCAA101.
The Group A alphas needed three extension periods to outlast their 'group of death' counterparts, but had more in their arsenal as the game went down to the trenches– rallying behind the steady leadership of ace recruit Patrick Sleat, and timely buckets from Mark Gojo Cruz, John Abis, JP Boral.
Puerto Galera native Sleat was an offensive workhorse all-game long until he fouled out in the third overtime period.
Despite the departure in crunch time, the 6-foot-2 star forward still led all Perpetual scorers with 23 points alongside 6 rebounds and 4 dimes to complete his terrific across-the-board play for the league’s top squad.
Super sophomore MGC was also a consistent provider, chipping in 20 markers, 5 boards, and 5 assists embellished with clutch buckets that sparked Perpetual’s spirited fight, while JP Boral drained the go-ahead three that ultimately sealed the win for the Altas.
San Beda superstar and league’s best scorer Janti Miller had himself an explosive afternoon and carried much of the offensive load for the Red Lions, raking in 28 points on 11-for-30 field goal shooting on top of 7 rebounds.
Graduating team captain Yukien Andrada helped out with 13 points and 5 rebounds, while guards Nygel Gonzales and Penny Estacio added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
