Knights win it for ailing buddy

MANILA, Philippines — Bong Quinto dished out another double-double game as Letran trounced Arellano U, 99-82, while College of St. Benilde held off Perpetual Help, 91-87, as the Knights and the Blazers firmed up their hold of joint third in the NCAA men’s tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

The Knights drew inspiration from Jerrick Balanza and broke away from the stubborn Chiefs in the fourth period on their way to the 17-point romp they offered to their ailing starter, who is out of the season after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“This one’s for Jerrick Balanza,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa, whose wards wore masking tapes on their left shoulders bearing Balanza’s No. 7.

Quinto came two rebounds short of posting another triple-double as he finished with 26 points and 12 assists while Larry Muyang fired a career-high 23 points.

Balanza, who will undergo an operation to remove a tumor on his temporal lobe, turned 22 yesterday.

“My wish is to recover from this and get back to what I love most, which is playing basketball,” said Balanza.

The taller, heftier Knights dominated early, 20-4, but the Chiefs fought back on a 13-2 counterattack and forced a 44-all count at the turn.

But the Knights regained control at the resumption then outscored their rivals in the last 10 minutes to fashion out the victory.

Earlier, St. Benilde outlasted Nigerian Prince Eze and Perpetual Help to boost their semifinal bid with Yankie Haruna scoring 19 points and Jimboy Pasturan backing him up with 17 markers.

CSB played minus JJ Domingo, who was ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in a tuneup game last week. But second-string guards Unique Naboa, Rob Nayve and Prince Carlos stepped up with Naboa scoring 14 points, including clutch free throws, and Nayve adding seven markers.

Carlos also hit a crucial three-pointer.The 6-9 Eze had a career-high 36 points including a three-point play that gave the Altas an 83-82 edge with 1.14 minutes left.

The scores:

First Game

CSB 91 – Haruna 19, Pasturan 17, Naboa 14, Gutang 13, Nayve 7, Young 7, Leutcheu 5, Belgica 4, Carlos 3, Velasco 2, Pagulayan 0

UPHSD 87 – Eze 36, Razon 18, Peralta 8, Aurin 7, Cuevas 7, Coronel 6, Tamayo 3, Mangalino 2, Pasia 0

Quarterscores: 17-20; 49-43; 68-62; 91-87

Second Game

Letran 99 – Quinto 26, Muyang 23, Calvo 20, Batiller 11, Fajarito 9, Ambohot 5, Taladua 4, Agbong 1, Celis 0, Mendreza 0 Yu 0, Pambid 0, Banez 0

AU 82 – Canete 17, Concepcion 17, Alban 12, Acloriza 12, Villoria 10, dela Cruz 8, Segura 4, Sera Josef 2, Bayla 0, Codinera 0, Ongolo Ongolo 0, Sacramento 0, Santos 0

Quarterscores: 22-17; 44-all; 65-58; 99-82