Squires clinch first semis seat, whip Greenies
Letran drew solid games from John Noble and Kevin Alas as it blasted La Salle-Greenhills, 113-96, to gain the first Final Four spot in the juniors division of the 83rd NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in
Noble uncorked 29 points and hauled down 18 rebounds while Alas scored 24 for the Squires, who improved to 6-1.
“This is really our goal, to make the semifinals,” said Letran mentor Elmer Latonio in Filipino.
The Greenies fell to 2-5.
Earlier, Ryan Buenafe fired 28 points while Arvie Bringas tossed in 14 as
Buenafe and Bringas, easily the high school basketball’s best frontline tandem, also combined for 33 rebounds as they powered the Staglets to their fifth victory in seven games for second behind the pacesetting Letran Squires (6-1).
Buenafe converted two foul shots off Leeward Lobaton’s foul with 13.4 seconds to cap the victory for the three-peat seeking squad.
The Red Cubs actually had the chance to snatch the win but Anton Altamirano’s desperation three-pointer missed its target as time expired. San Beda dropped to 4-3.
“I told my players that things will not be easy in our quest for a Final Four seat, much more our bid to repeat as champions. We can achieve it if we play hard every game,” said SSC mentor Raymund Valenzona.
It was sweet revenge for
In the second game, Bon Jovi Cipriano scored 28 points as Jose Rizal blasted Perpetual Help, 96-73, for its third win against four defeats.
It was the Altalettes’ sixth loss against a win.
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