Padilla, Navarro power Squires in routing Braves

Games Friday
(Filoil EcoOil Arena)
8 a.m. -- JRU vs San Beda
10 a.m. -- Letran vs UPHSD
12 p.m. -- AU vs EAC
2:30 p.m. -- Mapua vs SSC-R
4:30 p.m. -- CSB vs LPU

MANILA, Philippines -- Daniel Padilla and Jolo Navarro teamed up in lifting back-to-back title-seeking Letran to a 106-85 decimation of Arellano University on Wednesday and keeping its iron grip of the lead in NCAA junior basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

Padilla exploded for 28 points while Jolo Navarro bulldozed his way to 19 points and 23 rebounds as the Squires claimed their fifth win in a row and sixth in all in seven outings.

All it took for Letran to blow the game out of reach was a massive start, outscoring AU in the opening quarter, 37-18, never getting threatened the rest of the way.

And the Padilla-Navarro duo was at the center of it all as they ignited that early breakaway by combining for 18 points in that key stretch.

The Braves fell to 1-6.

Earlier, San Sebastian drew strength from a big fourth quarter performance in turning back College of St. Benilde, 76-67, that kept them inside the top four with a 5-2 slate.

Rion Porcadas fired 22 points he laced with five thundering triples while Jhun Penaverde and Ruvic Danag added 19 and 12 points, respectively.

Porcadas erupted for 10 points in the fourth quarter that lit that breakaway in the final canto.

The Junior Blazers slipped to 2-5.

The scores:

First Game
San Sebastian 76 -- Porcades 22, Penaverde 19, Danag 12, Apostol 6, Jimenez 5, Marasigan 4, Bautista 4, Melano 4, Herrera 0, Roales 0, Casan 0, Bonus 0, Jacob 0
CSB 67 -- Quines 22, Ison 13, Gomez 11, Podador 10, Ortega 6, Peralta 3, Natividad 2, Muyuela 0, Tud 0, Sharma 0, Pagalilauan 0, Abad 0, Romero 0, Nonoy 0, Hachuela 0
Quarterscores: 21-10; 38-34; 59-56; 76-67

Second Game
Letran 106 -- Padilla 28, Navarro 19, Manalili 14, Hugo 10, Dela Rama 7, De Leon 7, Villanueva 7, Diamante 5, Cruz 4, Baliling 3, Gazzingan 2
AU 85 -- Reguera 24, Javier 13, Mendoza 12, Franco 8, Espinosa 8, Vergara 5, Distrito 5, Austria 3, Tanudtanod 2, Yu 2, Pangilinan 2, Pascual 1, Novillo 0, Montesclaros 0, Jimenez 0
Quarterscores: 37-18; 62-36; 80-58; 106-85