Letran’s Jimboy Estrada. Handout photo.MANILA — Colegio de San Juan de Letran topped the NCAA bracket, while De La Salle University swept the UAAP side as the 18th FilOil Preseason Cup quarterfinal matchups are officially set.
The Knights weathered a late storm brought by archrival San Beda University for a 75-68 win that was their sixth in a row and eighth overall out of nine games.
Jimboy Estrada waxed hot with 25 points from perfect 11-of-11 shooting in two-pointers, while running mate Titing Manalili had 15 markers, seven assists, and two steals.
When the Red Lions were rallying to as close as three, 66-69, inside the last two minutes, however, it was Peter Rosillo and Mark Omega who got back-to-back makes to re-increase the Letran lead to seven, 73-66, with 37.9 ticks to go.
After another defensive stop, Estrada iced the game for good with a couple of charities.
"Ang mahalaga sa'min, get as much experience as we can, get as many wins as we can, para madala namin sa NCAA," said head coach Allen Ricardo, as they ended the eliminations at 8-1.
College of Saint Benilde, for its part, finished with the same standing after piling onto the woes of Lyceum of the Philippines University, 100-93.
By virtue of the Knights' head-to-head victory vs. Benilde, however, they are the NCAA Group's No. 1 set to face UAAP fourth seed National U on Friday in the crossover quarterfinals
The Pirates were actually pushing the Blazers to the limit and had a one-point edge, 67-66, at the midway mark of the third quarter.
It was at that point, however, that Matthew Oli caught fire and scored eight points in Benilde's 15-4 blast for an 81-71 lead late in the third period. They would not let go of the momentum all the way to a third consecutive victory.
In the end, Oli had 15 points, Gab Cometa dropped 15 markers of his own, and Raffy Celis made his presence felt all over with 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
"Raffy does a lot of things for us and he's making the most of his extended playing time with Justine out," said head coach Charles Tiu, as the versatile Cebuano has ably filled in for injured starter Justine Sanchez.
The Blazers, seeded second out of the NCAA Group, now set their sights on UAAP No. 3 University of the Philippines.
Renz Villegas and JM Bravo showed the way for Lyceum with 17 and 15 points, respectively. They close their campaign with a 1-7 record.
San Beda, meantime, bows out at 4-5 even after Jomel Puno's 17-point, five-rebound showing.
Meanwhile, the Green Archers remained perfect in the elims after getting the better of University of Santo Tomas, 94-86.
Mason Amos delivered the goods for the Green-and-White with 18 points and five rebounds, while Kean Baclaan collected 18 markers, seven assists, and five boards.
Mike Phillips posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, with Jacob Cortez also providing 11 markers, eight dimes, and eight boards.
"Actually, with us, anybody can get hot at any time. For me, I just keep working," said Amos following their rise to 6-0.
From a 79-73 lead early in the final frame, La Salle went on a 12-5 tear punctuated by a Phillips dunk to mount a 90-78 advantage with 4:31 remaining. That margin proved to be more than enough, as the Growling Tigers missed four triple tries the rest of the way.
"This is the first time we played them this preseason, and we can really see that UST is a different team. We were really excited to play them," said Robinson.
Up next for the top-seeded Green Archers is the NCAA No. 4 in upstart Arellano University.
The Growling Tigers, for their part, fell to 4-2 in the standings, but still secured the second spot by virtue of their triumph over the University of the Philippines.
Ice Danting had 19 points built on six treys to pace them, as Nic Cabanero also had 18 markers under his belt. They will face NCAA No. 3 Emilio Aguinaldo College in the next round.
Meanwhile, UP scored a second straight win to end the elims at the expense of Adamson University, 63-54.
Gani Stevens was the lone Fighting Maroon in double-digits with 14 points on top of eight rebounds and two assists, as Harold Alarcon and Jacob Bayla scored eight apiece and Francis Nnoruka had seven markers and nine boards.
"He's been doing good filling in yung mga nawala sa'min. Ang lagi lang naman naming sinasabi sa kanilang lahat, just keep working," said head coach Goldwin Monteverde of Stevens, who has been given greater responsibilities upon the departures of Quentin Millora-Brown, Aldous Torculas, and Francis Lopez.
State U was locked into the third-seed no matter the result of the match, and is now bound for a quarterfinal showdown with NCAA No. 2 Benilde on Friday.]
The Soaring Falcons, on the other hand, exit the preseason tourney at 1-5. Rookie Earl Medina topped the scoring column for them with 15 points.
The Scores:
First Game
BENILDE 100 - Cometa 15, Oli 15, Celis 12, Ynot 10, Daja 10, Eusebio 10, Ancheta 9, Morales 7, Gaspay 4, Galas 4, Gonzaga 2, Jalalon 2, Victoria 0, Umali 0.
LYCEUM 93 - Villegas 17, Bravo 15, Moralejo 9, Fuentes 8, Aviles 7, Barba 6, Casino 6, Penafiel 6, Versoza 5, Daileg 5, Almario 4, Aurigue 3, Caduyac 2, Panelo 0, Montano 0.
Quarters: 30-28, 53-54, 81-73, 100-93.
Second Game
LETRAN 75 - Estrada 24, Manalili 15, Roque 11, Cuajao 8, Tapenio 6, Rosillo 4, Gammad 3, Buensalida 2, Omega 2, Santos 0, Yusi 0.
SAN BEDA 66 - Puno 17, Andrada 12, Gonzales 12, Lina 11, Vailoces 5, Etulle 4, Tolentino 3, Culdora 2, Jamora 2, Estacio 0, Jalbuena 0, Hawkins 0, Celzo 0.
Quarters: 25-14, 40-40, 63-51, 75-68.
Third Game
UP 63 - Stevens 14, Alarcon 8, Bayla 8, Nnoruka 7, Felicilda 5, Alter 5, Andres 4, Briones 3, Fortea 3, Torres 2, Yniguez 2, Gagate 2, Abadiano 0, Coronel 0.
ADAMSON 54 - Medina 15, Anabo 13, Montebon 9, Torres 9, Ronzone C 4, Gaye 2, Canete 2, Perez 0, Sajili 0, Ronzone A 0, Barcelona 0, Sicat 0, Jaymalin 0.
Quarters: 19-12, 38-24, 50-36, 63-54.
Fourth Game
LA SALLE 94 - Amos 18, Baclaan 18, Phillips 14, Cortez J 11, Dungo 8, Macalalag 7, Marasigan 6, Cortez M 6, Pablo 4, Abadam 2, Nwankwo 0.
UST 86 - Danting 19, Cabanero 18, Osang 8, Padrigao 7, Danting 7, Paranada 6, Bucsit 6, Buenaflor 5, Laure 4, Estacio 3, Alao 3, Acido 0, Calum 0.
Quarters: 26-23, 52-49, 75-71, 94-86.