Knights clip Bombers for 9th win

MANILA, Philippines - The Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Knights used a big 4th quarter rally to pull away from the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers, 75-56, and win their 9th game in NCAA Season 87.

Both the Knights and the Bombers came out sluggish early in the game, and the 2 teams combined for only 18 field goals in the 1st half.

The game was tied at 31-all at halftime.

But the Knights came out with more fire in the 3rd period, with Kevin Alas and Kevin Racal combining to push the Knights to a 46-43 lead going into the final quarter.

JRU was able to keep in step with the Knights, thanks to the efforts of Nate Matute, who had 6 points in the 3rd quarter, including a lay-up in the final seconds that kept the Bombers within striking distance.

The Knights finally found their offensive rhythm and completely pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Racal scored 6 points and Victor Espiritu added a 3-pointer to give the Knights a 12-point lead, 55-43, early in the fourth.

Letran took its biggest lead at 21 points, 75-54, late in the fourth quarter.

Alas led the Knights with 17 points, including 9 in the final period.

But the player of the game was back-up guard Mark Cruz, who scored 10 points, including a big 3-pointer that killed the Bombers' momentum in the 4th quarter.

With their victory, the Knights are now 9-2 for the season, just behind defending champion San Beda.

The Bombers, meanwhile, drop to 3-8.