Knights turn back Altas; Generals up

MANILA, Philippines - Letran drew strength from the return of big man Raymond Almazan as it repulsed Perpetual Help, 71-67, to fuel its playoff drive in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Cup at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

The 6-7 Almazan scored six points, pulled down 15 rebounds and came through with three blocks to help the Knights even their record at 2-2.

“I told him he will miss a lot not playing this year, I gave him time to think and I’m glad he finally came to his senses,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, referring to Almazan, who missed the team’s first three games due to personal reasons.

Mark Cruz shot 16 points while Jam Cortez and Jonathan Belorio combined for 26 points and 21 rebounds for the Knights, who missed the services of the Alas brothers Kevin (foot) and Jun Jun (hyperextended knee) due to injuries.

The Altas fell to 0-5.

Earlier, Emilio Aguinaldo College unleashed a flurry of treys in the third quarter as it routed Arellano U, 76-65, to post their second win in six games.

The Generals drilled in four triples to highlight the team’s big third quarter charge that turned a 25-29 halftime deficit into a 58-45 bulge at the end of the period.

Noube Happi paced the Generals with 16 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, while Franz Chong chipped in 13 points and five assists and Russel Yaya added 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I told the boys to outhustle the opponent, and when I saw the stat sheet I was surprised with our rebounding and assists,” said coach Gerry Esplana, whose wards dominated the glass, 50-35, and were a plus-6 in assists.

“I am happy with our turnovers, but we need to work on our free throws,” said Esplana. EAC committed only 17 turnovers after piling up 29 errors in their last outing against Adamson. – With report from Roland Quilente