Cruz, Nambatac tow Letran to gripping OT win vs San Sebastian

MANILA, Philippines – Mark Cruz and Rey Nambatac starred in overtime as Letran College hacked out a thrilling 96-94 victory against NCAA rival San Sebastian College at the Filoil Flying V Arena Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan today.

Cruz and Nambatac provided the fireworks in the extension period, combining for the Knights' last 10 overtime points, which came in the form of huge triples to turn the tide in their favor.

"Sinabi ko lang sa sarili ko na kailangan ko tulungan ang team ko kasi halos lahat kami nasa foul trouble. Puso lang talaga pag nag-lalaro (I told myself that I need to help my team because almost all of us were in foul trouble. It’s all heart)," said the youthful Nambatac, who hit a trey with 1:22 remaining to extend Letran’s lead to 94-89.

"Yung 3-point shot ko galing yun sa missed free throw ko sa fourth quarter. Ginamit ko siya as motivation kasi kung na-shoot ko yun, wala na dapat overtime," third-year guard Cruz said of the triple he buried at the 2:11 mark that pushed the Knights ahead, 89-87.

Raymond Almazan provided a dominant presence inside the paint all game long, churning out a monster performance with 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Cruz and Nambatac, for their part, finished with 19 and 13 points, respectively for the Muralla-based squad.

"I can't rank where we are in our preparation especially (since) wala pa si (Kevin) Racal, but what we want to do right now is to improve every day," said Letran coach Caloy Garcia.

Highly touted rookie Jaymark Perez played well for San Sebastian, managing 20 markers and 14 caroms while Leo De Vera added 20 points for the Stags.

Letran improved to 2-1 (win-loss) while San Sebastian dropped to 2-3.