The Letran Knights officially marked themselves as one of the hottest teams in the NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament after capping off a successful crossover round with a statement 83-72 win over the Benilde Blazers on Tuesday.
Despite playing without their star guard Titing Manalili, who is still recovering from injury, the Knights used a 24-13 first quarter to put the game out of Benilde’s reach, while Denzil Sison-Walker spearheaded the offense with 21 points.
Head coach Allen Ricardo lauded the Intramuros-based squad’s efforts playing without their team captain but underscored the importance of defense after allowing Benilde to go on a 15-4 run in the dying minutes of the game.
“I’m happy, but not that satisfied. We have to start on our defense, and everything will be easy from there, and ito ‘yung resulta… ‘Yun lang naman, I’m trying to keep it simple for them,” Ricardo said postgame.
“They know where to go, they know the next action… That’s how we play, but s’yempre, there’s always room for improvement… We’re trying to build momentum going to the playoffs,” he added.
Letran Tops Group B Sans Manalili
Closing the crossover round with back-to-back wins, the Knights return to Group B with a 6-3 record to take sole possession of first place, moving ahead of the Arellano Chiefs.
Ricardo underscored the importance of Letran continuing to establish its identity, especially with Manalili and Kevin Santos missing their next game against the San Sebastian Golden Stags after the latter was suspended following an ejection for taunting.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanila, hindi tayo pwede manalo ng ala chamba lang. A win is a win but still, we should identify where we’re coming from, offensively [and] defensively,” Ricardo said. “Kahit na wala si Jonathan, they should be confident ‘dun sa sistema… Just stick to the system and, at the same time, keep the game simple.”
Playing without their two leaders in their next game, the Knights will look to continue leaning on a next-man-up mentality after the expanded roles of Justin Cargo and Aaron Buensalida translated to 26 markers combined.
Letran will look to make it three in a row when it faces the Stags on Monday, October 26, at the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan.
