Knights use height, might to rip Chiefs for third win

Manila, Philippines - Letran used a balanced scoring attack and domination off the boards to beat Arellano, 88-70, for its third straight win and a share of the lead with San Sebastian in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tourney at The Arena yesterday.

Jam Cortes (16 points and nine rebounds) and Jonathan Belorio (15 markers and five boards) led three other Knights in double-digit production, doing the most damage in the second period where a crippling 21-0 blast shifted the game in their favor.

“We had 20 assists, our highest output in three games, we had five guys in double figures and we outrebounded Arellano, 49-33. I guess that’s the story of the game – balanced scoring, good rebounding, and good ball distribution,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, improving on his team’s 0-2 start last season.

Also finishing with 10 points or more were 19-year-old rookie Kevin Racal (14 points, six rebounds and five assists), Raymond Almazan (12 points, seven boards and two blocks), and Kevin Alas (11 points, nine caroms and six feeds).

The Knights had eight more rebounds off the offensive glass than AU and an extra eight defensively, making it easier to complete the rout.

But it was not an all-Letran show from the get-go.

“We’re passive in the first quarter,” said Alas, whose wards fell behind by five at the end of the first (18-23) and seven early in the second (18-25).

“Offense became our problem in the early goings perhaps because in the last six days we were too focused on defense and only worked on our offense yesterday.”

Emilio Aguinaldo College nipped guest team Lyceum, 73-67, to take solo fourth with a 2-1 win-loss card but faces the specter of missing ace player Claude Cubo in their next outing due to his flagrant foul-2 against the Pirates.

Cubo fired 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with one assist, one steal, and one block but his brilliance was cut short at the 7:41 mark of the fourth by his short fuse. Getting hot under the collar in a rebound play, Cubo threw a punch to the back of Onopre Napiza, leading to his ejection.