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In the wake of a two-game losing slide and bereft of the man that single-handedly carried them the last time they were pushed to the limit by the team they were facing, the Letran College Knights were in search of heroes from among their ranks. Enter Reymar Gutilban. Stepping up big in the absence of RJ Jazul, Gutilban fueled the Knights’ early and late surge for a gritty 74-66 triumph over University of Perpetual Help Monday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
“We were inconsistent,” said Letran coach Louie Alas. “It’s different when we don’t have RJ. Good thing Gutilban stepped up for him.” “I have to check the mind-set of our team. It’s not a good character for a team that is aspiring for something big.” With their eighth win in 11 games, the Knights forged a three-team tie at the top with defending champion San Beda College and Jose Rizal University. Mapua Institute of Technology stayed in the hunt for a Final Four berth as the Cardinals rallied past Philippine Christian University, 63-60, in the last game of the day. Rookie guard Allan Mangahas tallied 16 points, including the game’s last three points inside the final 1:20, to lift the Cardinals, who remain in fifth spot and hard-pressed to sweep their remaining three matches to make it to the next phase. The reed-thin Mangahas shattered a 60-all deadlock with a fastbreak lay-up off a steal on Stephen Siruma then split his free throws with 25.4 seconds remaining. “Our objective was to get our confidence back so now my concern is for the team to play better in the next coming games, which are all must-win situations for us,” Mapua coach Leo Isaac said. Gutilban, who also spearheaded Letran’s early explosion with 12 first-quarter points, rattled off five straight points to spark the Knights’ late breakaway, after the Altas roared back from 18 points down early in the third quarter to take the lead, 51-50, with nine minutes remaining. He knocked in a triple from the left quarter court and banked in his own miss to cap an 11-0 run, before Rey Guevarra and Dino Daa put the finishing touches of the win by combining for 10 points inside the final four minutes. Alas added: “I like our chances now. Still, our target is the Final Four. We’re not yet thinking about the twice-to-beat bonus.” Jazul, who scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half of the Knights’ come-from-behind 63-63 win over the Altas in the first-round, is under the weather and Alas is hoping the 5-foot-11 shooting guard recovers in time for their important clash with Mapua on Friday. The Knights stretched their advantage to 45-27 early in the third period, before Franz Dysam fueled a 31-5 windup to give the Altas their first taste of the lead since 3-2 in the first quarter. “We made some adjustments, especially with (Carl) Melegrito giving up his offense so he could focus on Dysam,” Alas said. The fleet-footed Dysam finished with a game-high 18 points for the Altas, who slumped to their 11th straight loss. Earlier, the Letran Squires set up the double victory over Perpetual as Kevin Alas pumped in 22 points for an 80-79 win that hiked their record to 7-3.
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