Wangs Strikers-Letran eliminated AMA Online in the 2023 Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants’ Cup with a 71-57 victory Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Pao Javillonar posted 15 points in 16 minutes and the Knights limited the Titans to seven points in the fourth quarter to pull away en route to their second straight win.
Letran, the reigning three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association champion, improved to 2-2 and gained a piece of the fourth spot with Perpetual Help University System Delta entering the homestretch of the seven-team tourney.
“We had a slow start and there’s no excuses for us. Credit to the players for stepping up in the second half. We relied on our defense because we want it to become our identity moving forward,” Letran coach Rensy Bajar said.
Letran opened an early 15-7 lead but AMA slowly picked up its rhythm and outscored the Knights, 30 18, to go up at 37-33 at the break.
‘We had a slow start and there’s no excuses for us.’
The Titans stayed hot in the third quarter and took its biggest lead at 42-35.
But Knights battled back and regained a 48-44 lead entering the payoff period.
Kevin Santos scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Kobe Monje and Neil Guariano chipped in eight each for Letran.
Earl Ceniza and Baclig had 20 and 14 points, respectively, for the Titans, who stayed listless at 0-5.
The Scores:
Wangs Strikers-Letran (71) — Javillonar 15, Santos 14, Guariano 8, Monje 8, Cuajao 7, Ariar 6, Reyson 5, Tolentino 4, Go 4, Laquindanum 0, Brillantes 0, Bojorcelo 0, Alarcon 0, Morales 0.
AMA (57) — Ceniza 20, Baclig 14, Alina 6, Panlilio 5, Camay 4, Del Rosario 3, Geronga 3, Peñano 2, Yamabao 0, Temporosa 0, K. Cruz 0, Ibo 0, A. Kruz 0, Cantoma 0, Fernandez 0.
Quarters: 20-17, 33-37, 54-50, 71-57.
