LETRAN leaned on shooters Rey Nambatac and Mark Cruz to break away from a nip-and-tuck contest and foil Emilio Aguinaldo College’s (EAC) upset bid, 72-64, on Wednesday in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan City.
Nambatac and Cruz—both top products of the school’s vaunted juniors program—carried the Knights’ scoring with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The duo played a huge part in their 12-4 surge midway the second half that cracked the game wide open.
But making his mark in the contest was transferee Cebuano center Jomari Sollano, who quietly put up an impressive stat line of 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes on the floor. The 6-foot-5 slotman had to contend with EAC’s towering African reinforcements Hamadou Laminou and Addum Mbang.
Laminou accounted for 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out, while Jorem Morada sank 11 of his own to keep the Generals within striking distance.
“We had to adjust with EAC’s 1-2-2 defense. ‘Nung tinawag nila, nag-struggle kami at hindi kami makapag-adjust, especially ‘nung first half. Pero sa halftime, pinag-usapan namin kung paano kami makakahanap ng butas sa 1-2-2 na iyon,” Letran Head Coach Aldin Ayo said.
Adamson University—sans Head Coach Kenneth Duremdes—made a rousing tournament debut by downing University of San Jose-Recoletos, 62-59.
Sophomore center Matthew Aquino, son of former Philippine Basketball Association and Adamson University star Marlou Aquino, buried five three-pointers on his way to a career-best 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots in 34 minutes of action. William Polican contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, while Jessie Pedrosa finished with eight markers.
In juniors action, Malayan High School of Science edged Adamson University, 80-77, surviving the 29-point onslaught of Jason Celis to nab their first win of the tournament. Florencio Serrano scored 14 points and had eight boards, while Jasper Salenga and Mike Enriquez posted 11 and 10, respectively, for Malayan High School.
Image credits: Kevin de la Cruz