LETRAN pinned College of Saint Benilde its first loss of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with a 81-75 victory at the Filoil EcoOil Centre yesterday.

The Knights held the Blazers to a season-low, as Fran Yu drilled in a lay-up to give the defending champions a 79-75 advantage in the final 54.1 seconds.

Mark Sangalang then made two crucial defensive stops down the stretch to frustrate Benilde, this season’s top offensive team which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Meanwhile, the league scratched today’s lone match between San Sebastian and Lyceum of the Philippines University, as six Stags players were placed under health and safety protocols.

The San Sebastian-Emilio Aguinaldo College game on Tuesday was also postponed and will be played at a later date.

Under NCAA’s Covid protocols, there will be an automatic postponement of games in the next seven days if two or more players entered health and safety protocols.

Later, JC Abis nailed a go-ahead triple in the final 26.1 seconds as University of Perpetual Help System Dalta discovered its winning ways with a 79-77 victory.

Bouncing back from last Sunday’s 69-72 loss to Arellano University that ended a 14-game winning streak, Letran rose to 2-1 in third place.

Brent Paraiso scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the first half to go with four steals, three assists and two rebounds, while Yu also produced a solid all-around game for the Knights with 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals.

Coach Bonnie Tan had a sigh of relief after the Knights pulled through in the endgame in contrast to what happened in their defeat to the Chiefs.

“I challenged the boys na huwag sanang mangyari yung nangyari sa last game namin against Arellano,” said Tan.

“Talagang very frustrated ang team and ayaw nga sanang maulit,” he added.

The Cardinals tried to turn things around after the Abis three-pointer, but were called 24-second violation.

Coach Myk Saguiguit was happy to see Perpetual move up to 2-2 to tie San Beda, San Sebastian and Jose Rizal in fifth place.

“Ang sabi ko sa kanila, knockout game. If we lose against Mapua, lalalim kami. Ang hirap na mag 1-3 ka kasi lahat ng nasa standings ngayon dikit-dikit,” said Saguiguit.

“Ang sabi ko, we cannot afford to lose this game. Kung gusto ninyong mag-enjoy sa season na ito, ayaw ninyong mapunta sa stress season, manalo kayo sa Mapua. I’m happy na ibinigay ang tira ni Mr. Abis,” he added.

Kim Aurin led the Altas with 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while Jielo Razon broke out from a shooting slump to finish with 15 points to go with eight boards, four assists and two steals.

The Cardinals stumbled to their third straight defeat after a season-opening win over the Red Lions.

After the loss to the Chiefs, Sangalang and King Caralipio promised that the setback will be the Knights’ last of the season – which has remains to be seen with the competitive nature of the tournament.

“Tulad ng sinabi ni Louie (Sangalang) at si King (Caralipio) na last na talo iyon. Sabi ko parang nakaka-pressure iyon. During the practice, talagang sadyang tinanong ko: ‘Paano tayo hindi matalo?’ They contributed sa practice plan and naii-involve sila sa words na iniwan sila sa inyo,” said Tan.

Will Gozum had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds but had a lay-up foiled by Sangalang late in the game that would have cut the Blazers deficit to two, while Miggy Corteza chipped in 18 points and seven boards.

Letran’s tough defense forced Benilde to commit a season-high 24 turnovers.

The scores:

First Game

Letran (81) — Paraiso 25, Yu 12, Javillonar 10, Monje 10, Caralipio 8, Reyson 6, Santos 6, Sangalang 4, Ariar 0, Olivario 0, Bautista 0.
Benilde (75) — Gozum 23, Corteza 18, Nayve 10, Lepalam 10, Cullar 7, Sangco 4, Pasturan 2, Flores 1, Marcos 0, Carlos 0, Dimayuga 0.
Quarterscores: 25-23, 50-46, 71-62, 81-75

Second Game

Perpetual (79) — Aurin 18, Razon 15, Nitura 13, Abis 11, Roque 9, Omega 9, Flores 4, Barcuma 0, Martel 0, Cuevas 0, Orgo 0, Nunez 0.
Mapua (77) — Gamboa 12, Hernandez 11, Soriano 11, Nocum 10, Bonifacio 10, Pido 9, Lacap 8, Garcia 4, Cuenco 2, Agustin 0, Mercado 0.
Quarterscores: 20-24, 38-41, 60-55, 79-77.