Letran toppled a huge first half deficit to foil Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), 87-79, and cement its hold of third spot in the Final Four on Wednesday in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Larry Muyang scored a double-double of 22 points and 11 boards, and Jerrick Balanza tallied 20 points with four rebounds to power the Knights to their 12th win against six losses.
Trailing by 11 point at the half, the Knights’ veterans went on a scoring blitz in the third quarter to erase their double-digit deficit and took the lead, 56-55.
The Knights, who will make their second straight semifinals appearance, rallied from 19 points down in the first half to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Letran hopes for a better result this season after a forgettable Final Four duel with Lyceum of the Philippines University last year.
“It’s not how we started. It’s all about how we finish the season. That’s our challenge,” Knights Coach Bonnie Tan said.
Bonbon Batiller added 15 points and four assists, while Fran Yu had 10 points and four assists for the Knights.
The Generals, who ended the season with a 4-14 card, raced to a 38-19 advantage but lost steam in the second half.
Jethro Mendoza scored 26 points in his final game for EAC.
Jay Ynot shot 18 points as San Beda overwhelmed Lyceum, 111-82, to cap its dominating juniors elimination round campaign with a 17-1 record.
Joshua Ramirez had a 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists as Letran ended its juniors campaign with an 8-10 record following a 92-74 romp of EAC.