Multititled Letran College dumped Lyceum of the Philippines University, 78-66, for its sixth victory in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Behind Jimboy Estrada, who caught fire with a team-high 19 points behind an eight-of-12 shooting from the field, the Knights wound up with a 6-3 win-loss card at the end of their first-round campaign.
Armed with a 66-60 advantage with under five minutes remaining in the game, Letran dealt Lyceum the telling blows on a 12-5 salvo.
During the halftime break, Letran head coach Allen Ricardo told his players not to lower their guards and remain sharp and focused against the pesky Pirates.
“I told the boys at halftime that we need momentum. That means multiple stops and key baskets,” Ricardo said.
“What is important now is recovery while we wait for the schedule of the second round,” he added.
Kevin Santos had a double-double game for Letran with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Kobe Monje had 11 points.
John Barba finished with 24 points as Lyceum finished the first round with a 4-5 slate.
Meanwhile, defending champion San Beda University notched back-to-back wins after a close 63-62 victory over University of Perpetual Help System Dalta.
Jomel Puno led the Red Lion with 16 points as they picked up their fifth win in eight games.
Yukien Andrada and RC Calimag also contributed for San Beda, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Cedrick Abis scored 14 points as the Altas are tied at fifth place with identical 4-5 slates.
San Beda clamped down on defense with 1:40 minutes left in the fourth quarter, denying the Altas multiple chances to take the game.
Lions head coach Yuri Escueta emphasized the importance of staying in the present and not letting their past mistakes affect them.
“Our mindset was not to think too much about the past. Let’s try to be the aggressors today,” Escueta said.
“We had a defensive target of 60 points per game. Even though today went over two points to our target, it was still our type of game, which was our defensive identity.”