MANILA, Philippines — Colegio de San Juan de Letran, the Group B leader in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament, needs to overcome Mapúa University in the crossover round to retain its hold on top of the standings on Monday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The Letran Knights (4-2) look to pick up back-to-back wins when they face the Mapúa Cardinals (3-3) at 3 p.m., followed by Jose Rizal University’s (JRU) (5-1) clash and Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) (2-4) duel at 5 p.m. Playing without Titing Manalili, who suffered a right-knee injury on Friday, Letran must find a way to get past the Cardinals, who are riding a three-game winning streak. Mapúa opened the season with three straight losses but has since bounced back with big wins over San Beda, Arellano, and EAC. Veteran Marc Cuenco led the way in their most recent victory against EAC with 28 points, while Ivan Lazarte added 24. On Letran’s side, Manalili has been a key playmaker. He finished with 23 points and 12 assists in the Knights’ win over Lyceum on Thursday. With him sidelined, Letran will bank on Jimboy Estrada and Denzil Walker to counter Mapúa’s sharpshooting duo of Cuenco and Lazarte. After their clash,...
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