19-05-2025
FilOil: Jonathan Manalili carries Letran to 14-point comeback win vs. Arellano
Jonathan Manalili may have just offered a preview of what's to come for Colegio de San Juan de Letran under his leadership as he steered the Knights to a 72-68 escape against Arellano University in the 18th Filoil Preseason Cup on Sunday.
The flashy young guard helped Letran overcome a 14-point deficit to stun the Chiefs, posting 21 points on a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting from the field. The Letran homegrown product also dished out seven assists, grabbed three rebounds, and had one steal.
Some other of the Knights' new recruits also proved their worth with transferee Jun Roque churning out 14 markers, five boards, three dimes, three steals, and one block while Aaron Buensalida and Mark Denver Omega chipped in with nine and eight points.
Letran got off to a shaky start with Arellano building a 44-30 lead in the second period after a pair of charities from Dre Miller. The Knights, who are out for redemption after missing back-to-back Final Four appearances in the NCAA, made a brief run to end the halftime trailing by five, 39-44.
Arellano, though, lit up from downtown in the fourth after King Maverick Vinoya and Renzo Abiera knocked down a triple each to send the Chiefs to a 66-58 cushion.
Letran responded with an 8-0 blast capped by a Deo Cuajao jumper as the Knights forced a 66-all deadlock with 3:30 to go in the game.
Manalili, who once steered the Letran Squires to back-to-back NCAA juniors titles, then took care of business the rest of the way. He first sank two free throws before igniting for a huge three-pointer that made it a 71-66 advantage for the wards of head coach Allen Ricardo.
T-Mc Ongotan gave Arellano some hopes after converting a quick layup, but his foul on Manalili ultimately sealed the win for Letran as the latter split from the line to complete the come-from-behind victory.
The scores:
Letran 72 - Manalli 21, Roque 14, Buensalida 9, Omega 8, Cuajao 8, Silorio 5, Tapenio 4, Rosilio 2, Yusi 1, Nunag 0, Santos 0, Montecillo 0, Muyuela 0, Estil 0, Baliling 0.
Arellano 68 - Cabotaje 13, Ongotan 11, Abiera 10, Vinoya 10, Valencia 6, Hemal 5, Miller 4, Borromeo 3, Geronimo 2, Langit 2, Anama 2, Camay 0, Buenaventura 0, Demetria 0, Libang 0.
Quarters: 24-25, 38-44, 53-60, 72-68.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
