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By Frank Calapre, Correspondent
LETRAN College banked on Rey
Guevarra anew to notch its sixth victory Friday in the 83rd National
Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at The
Arena in San Juan.
Guevarra sank two charities off
Gan Sevilla in the final 10 seconds as the Knights escaped with a
51-49 win over the College of St. Benilde Blazers to remain on top
of the standings.
Guevarra’s layup also saved the
day for Letran, which scored a 70-69 win over defending champion San
Beda College last Wednesday.
“I was very positive with what
my boys told me before the game, that they will not be complacent. I
believe them and they lived up to their words,” said Letran head
coach Louie Alas.
“It was a character game for us
because we played bad. The two free throws of Guevarra is God’s
willing for the team. The team’s character really came out in this
game,” added Alas.
The victory was not reason enough
for the Knights to celebrate as they were behind most of the time in
the third period where the Blazers led by 11 points, 34-23, 5:23
remaining.
Letran managed to trim the gap at
39-45 before Rafael Jazul fired two consecutive triples and Guevarra
sank another three-pointer to put the Knights on top for the first
time, 48-47, going into the final 3:12.
The Blazers regained the
upperhand on Gerald Layug’s basket before Letran’s Dino Daa
split his charities off Harvey Porras to tie the count at
49-all, 57 ticks to go.
“I gave credit to St. Benilde.
They really played good today. They have good plans, we were really
scouted,” stressed Alas.
Guevarra had a game-high 14
points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals for the Knights, whose only loss
came from the Jose Rizal Bombers, 75-79. Jazul scored 10 points
while Daa finished with 7 points and 12 rebounds.
Porras finished with 12 points
while Gerald Layug had 9 and Christian Cabatu contributed 6 for the
Blazers, who remained at the cellar with a 1-6 win-loss record.
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