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Letran Squires win NCAA high school basketball title. – NCAA PHOTOS
Twenty years ago Letran won the NCAA high school basketball championship. And 40 years have flown by since the school took the men’s and boys’ basketball crowns in the same year.
The count returns to zero.
The Squires pocketed the crown with a 77-61 defeat of St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills on Saturday, turning to their core reserves to get the job done at the San Andres Sports Complex.
Jovel Baliling and Jonathan Manalili came off the bench to inspire Letran, who also got their usual brilliance from Andy Gemao, who was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.
Letran’s last high school crown came in 2001, when the Squires were led by former Philippine Basketball player Jay-Ar Reyes. With the men’s team making a “three-peat” early in the season, the Muralla-based school scored its second basketball double since 1983.
Baliling led the Squires with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists while Manalili added 16 points, eight boards, seven assists and two blocks in the win.
Gemao, who is 16, had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for Letran and was named the best player in the championship series with averages of 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
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