WITH ace playmaker Fran Yu snapping out of his own funk, Letran proved too strong for a game but outclassed Emilio Aguinaldo College side yesterday.
Banking on a furious finish, the Knights ripped the Generals 83-62 for their sixth straight win and stayed unscathed in the 97th NCAA basketball tournament at the La Salle Green Hills Gym in Mandaluyong.
Yu drained three three-pointers down the stretch and wound up with 11 points, to go with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals for Letran, while Brent Paraiso led the team with 15 points, five boards, and four dimes.
Kurt Reyson also had 15 markers, and Rhenz Abando 14 for the Knights, who came off an 80-77 decision over the Lyceum Pirates last Sunday and hiked their card to 6-0 to solidify their bid for a Final Four berth.
EAC failed to come up with an encore to its 63-60 victory over San Sebastian College last April 13 and dropped to 3-4 for joint fifth with the Golden Stags.
In the other game, San Beda University trounced Perpetual Help 78-71 also for its sixth straight triumph.
Fil-Canadian guard James Kwekuteye showed the way for the Red Lions with 18 points and two steals, while Yukien Andrada added 15 markers and four rebounds.
The win allowed San Beda to remain unbeaten with a 6-0 record tie with Letran and score a fitting follow-up to its 82-68 win over Arellano University last Sunday.
The Altas failed to recover from an 83-95 loss to the Mapua University Cardinals last April 13 and fell to 2-5.
Letran coach Bonnie Tan is simply fine with Yu taking on the leadership role for the squad.
“Actually, ang hinahanap ko sa kanya is iyong leadership sa loob ng court, kung paano paganahin yung players niya,” Tan said.
“Iyong teammates niya kung paano lumabas ang laro from shooters to our bigs. Dapat mapalabas iyong laro ng mga teammates niya,” he added.