MANILA, Philippines – The defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran outplayed Arellano University in the final quarter to break open a tight game and claim an 89-79 victory, their third straight of the NCAA Season 92 men's basketball tournament on Thursday at the Arena in San Juan.

Behind clutch shots from McJour Luib and a strong all-around effort from Rey Nambatac, the Knights came through with a 27-point fourth quarter to hand the Chiefs their first loss of the tournament.

Letran is now in solo third place with a 3-1 win-loss record, just behind the unbeaten San Beda College and Mapua Institute of Technology. Arellano, for its part, dropped to a share of fourth place with a 2-1 slate, tied with University of Perpetual Help.

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"Give credit sa boys talaga," Letran coach Jeff Napa said after the game. "In-execute nila ang game plan namin, especially on defense. Talagang lumalabas na 'yung tunay na Letran na nag-champion. 'Yun naman ang hinahanap ko talaga."

Letran took a slim 42-36 advantage at the break with Nambatac already tallying 12 points, but Jiovani Jalalon orchestrated a 9-0 spurt that gave the Chiefs a 46-43 advantage with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

It was a topsy-turvy game from that point on, with both teams playing at a high pace as they tried to outgun each other. Zach Nicholls came up with a pair of step-back three-pointers to give the Chiefs a lift, but he was answered by Luib, who had two triples of his own in the third frame.

Letran went up 60-53 after Luib's second three-pointer of the quarter and a free throw from Jheo Ambohot, only to see the Chiefs respond with an 8-0 blast to take a 61-60 lead with 28.6 seconds left. A lay-up from Donald Gumaru off a feed from Jalalon capped the Arellano run.

But the Knights were unfazed. Nambatac, who finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, shook off his defender and drove strong to the hoop to give Letran a 62-61 lead with 2.8 seconds left.

It was a lead that the Knights would never relinquish. They opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run, taking advantage of the token rim protection provided by Arellano's Dioncee Holts, to race to a 71-63 advantage.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Holts kept the Chiefs within striking distance, 69-71, but Jerick Balanza and Luib scored seven straight points to bring Letran back up 78-69. They took a double-digit lead, 82-71, after back-to-back lay-ups from Nambatac and Jom Sollano.

Despite Jalalon's best efforts, the Chiefs were unable to threaten again. It did not help that his backcourt partner, Kent Salado, had a miserable game, committing a crucial turnover and then an offensive foul in the fourth, while also missing a pair of charities.

Jalalon finished with 17 points and 11 assists, but shot only six-of-20 from the field. Salado, for his part, had only five points. Twenty-four offensive rebounds kept the Chiefs in the game, but a brutal stretch in the fourth quarter, in which the Knights attacked the basket with impunity, doomed them.

The Knights outscored the Chiefs, 27-18, in the final frame, and finished the game shooting 48.48% from the field. Arellano, for its part, converted only 38.1% of their shots and missed eight of its 19 free throws in the 10-point loss.

"Ito 'yung pinaka- magandang game na nilaro namin so far sa four games," Napa declared. "Hopefully, magtuloy-tuloy na ito at maging consistent kami all throughout the season."

Luib scored a season-high 17 points, making five of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. Balanza added 12 and JP Calvo had 11, while Felix Apreku grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds as Letran finished with only one board less, 46-47, than the taller Arellano squad.

The scores:

Letran 89- Nambatac 22, Luib 17, Balanza 12, Calvo 11, Quinto 10, Sollano 9, Apreku 5, Ambohot 2, Sario 1, dela Pena 0

Arellano U 79- Jalalon 17, Nichols 15, Flores 10, Enriquez 9, Meca 8, Gumaru 4, Cadavis 4, Holts 3, Aguilar 3, Salado 2, Villoria 2, Canete 2, Gupilan 0

Quarterscores: 24-21; 42-36; 62-61; 89-79

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