Knights survive Blazers’ hot start

MANILA, Philippines — Rhenz Abando and Fran Yu took charge in the fourth quarter as Letran shrugged off rust and jitters and turned back a gritty College of St. Benilde, 67-63, yesterday to set in motion its title-retention bid in the 97th NCAA basketball tournament at the La Salle Greenhills Gym in Mandaluyong.

Yu, one of the few remnants of the team that topped the league’s last full season three years ago, and Abando, a transferee from University of Santo Tomas, combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knights rally back from an eight-point deficit and seal the victory in the new season.

Yu scored six straight points early in the final canto to slice Letran’s eight-point deficit to just two, 57-55, while Abando had a five-point swing he capped with a booming triple that gave them a 60-59 lead with over four minutes to go.

AJ Benzon, a recruit from US NCAA Division I University of Nevada Las Vegas, gave the Blazers, now coached by Charles Tiu, back the lead with a layup, 61-60. But it turned out to be their last hurrah as they couldn’t score from there.

Mark Paolo Javillonar scored on a follow-up off Abando’s miss to give the Knights the lead for good.

“The boys refused to lose and we’re lucky our veterans stepped up like Fran Yu and Rhenz,” said Letran coach Bonnie Tan.

The Knights though started the game far from their top billing as the team to beat this year after retaining some of the players from their championship squad in 2019 and a strong recruiting coup headed by Abando and even trailed by 12 points, 32-20, in the second period.

But Letran slowly but surely fought its way back before going to the Yu-Abando duo to snatch the win.

Abando did it all as he had not only fired a game-high 19 points, he also grabbed eight rebounds, blocked four shots and dished out three assists while Yu chipped in 12 points, eight caroms, two steals and an assist to make up for his six turnovers.

Benzon displayed superb shooting skills and drilled four triples to finish with a team-best 16 points but he couldn’t deliver when his team needed it most in the end.

Tan also mentioned treating all their games equally important.

“In our huddle, we keep mentioning treating every game here like a championship game,” he said.

Earlier, the league was ushered in with a grand opening production number performed by some of GMA 7’s top Kapuso stars.