# 2018 Letran Knights basketball team

The 2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the 94th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2018-19 began on July 7, 2018, and the host school for the season was the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.
The Knights finished the double round-robin eliminations at third place with 13 wins against 5 losses. They went on to the Final Four for the first time in three years since winning their 17th championship in the 91st season, but got eliminated by the second-seed Lyceum Pirates, who had a twice-to-beat advantage over them.
Outgoing Knight and team captain Bong Quinto was named one of the Mythical Five members and Larry Muyang bagged the Rookie of the Year award.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Muyang | Balagasay | Bañez |
| PF | Fajarito | Ambohot | Mandreza |
| SF | Quinto | Taladua | Agbong |
| SG | Balanza | Batiller | Galvelo |
| PG | Calvo | Celis | Yu |

## Roster changes

The Knights lost its main star Rey Nambatac. Holdovers were Bong Quinto, JP Calvo, Jeo Ambohot, and Jerrick Balanza. Added to the roster were transferees Christian Fajarito, who played for St. Benilde Blazers in 2015 & 2016, big man Larry Muyang from De La Salle University, and former UE Red Warriors duo Edson Batiller and Fran Yu.

## Coaching staff

Coach Jeff Napa went on his third year as the head coach of the Knights. He was joined on the sidelines with Leo Pujante, Jay Agleron, Chico Manabat, and Letran Squires head coach RJ Guevarra.
This season also saw the San Miguel Corporation as the primary sponsor of the Letran sports program. Letran officials then appointed San Miguel Corporation sports director and Letran alumnus Alfrancis Chua as Special Assistant to the Rector for Sports Development.

## Injuries

* Letran point guard JP Calvo sustained a high ankle sprain on his left foot during the Final Four match against Lyceum Pirates after he accidentally collided with Lyceum center Mike Nzeusseu when the two went for the loose ball.
* In September 2018, Jerrick Balanza was diagnosed with a tumor in his temporal lobe of the brain. Balanza missed the rest of the season.

## NCAA Season 94 games results

Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on ABS-CBN Sports and Action & iWantTFC.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result | Record |
| First round of eliminations ||||||
| Jul 13 | 4:00 p.m. | Perpetual Altas | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | L 75–78 | 0–1 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 15; Rebounds: Fajarito, Quinto – 8; Assists: Quinto – 8 ||||||
| Jul 19 | 4:00 p.m. | San Sebastian Stags | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 83–76 | 1–1 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 17; Rebounds: Muyang, Quinto – 8; Assists: Batiller, Quinto – 4 ||||||
| Jul 27 | 12:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 74–58 | 2–1 |
| Game Highs: Points: Fajarito, Muyang – 14; Rebounds: Ambohot, Muyang – 9; Assists: Calvo – 6 ||||||
| Aug 2 | 4:00 p.m. | Benilde Blazers | Letran Gym • Manila | W 64–60 | 3–1 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 17; Rebounds: Fajarito – 11; Assists: Balanza – 4 ||||||
| Aug 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Arellano Chiefs | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 88–70 | 4–1 |
| Game Highs: Points: Muyang – 16; Rebounds: Fajarito – 11; Assists: Calvo – 6 ||||||
| Aug 10 | 4:00 p.m. | San Beda Red Lions | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | L 76–80$^{OT}$ | 4–2 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 21; Rebounds: Fajarito, Quinto – 11; Assists: Calvo – 6 ||||||
| Aug 17 | 4:00 p.m. | Lyceum Pirates | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay City | L 82–87 | 4–3 |
| Game Highs: Points: Calvo – 18; Rebounds: Fajarito – 12; Assists: Quinto – 9 ||||||
| Aug 21 | 2:00 p.m. | Mapúa Cardinals | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 84–63 | 5–3 |
| Game Highs: Points: Calvo – 20; Rebounds: Muyang – 14; Assists: Quinto – 11 ||||||
| Aug 26 | 12:00 p.m. | EAC Generals | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 76–56 | 6–3 |
| Game Highs: Points: Batiller – 17; Rebounds: Quinto – 10; Assists: Quinto – 11 ||||||
| Third place after 1st round (6 wins–3 losses) ||||||
| Second round of eliminations ||||||
| Sep 6 | 4:00 p.m. | Arellano Chiefs | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 99–82 | 7–3 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 26; Rebounds: Quinto – 8; Assists: Quinto – 12 ||||||
| Sep 11 | 2:00 p.m. | San Beda Red Lions | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | L 68–74 | 7–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 19; Rebounds: Fajarito – 11; Assists: Calvo – 7 ||||||
| Sep 21 | 12:00 p.m. | Mapúa Cardinals | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 84–69 | 8–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Calvo – 26; Rebounds: Quinto – 14; Assists: Quinto – 11 ||||||
| Sep 25 | 12:00 p.m. | EAC Generals | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 91–82 | 9–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Taladua, Galvelo – 15; Rebounds: Muyang – 9; Assists: Fajarito – 9 ||||||
| Sep 28 | 4:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 89–79 | 10–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Galvelo – 16; Rebounds: Muyang – 12; Assists: Quinto – 12 ||||||
| Oct 5 | 4:00 p.m. | Lyceum Pirates | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 80–79 | 11–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Muyang – 23; Rebounds: Muyang – 16; Assists: Calvo – 6 ||||||
| Oct 9 | 12:00 p.m. | San Sebastian Stags | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 79–61 | 12–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Batiller, Muyang – 15; Rebounds: Muyang – 13; Assists: Calvo – 8 ||||||
| Oct 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Perpetual Altas | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | W 82–80 | 13–4 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 22; Rebounds: Quinto – 9; Assists: Calvo – 7 ||||||
| Oct 23 | 4:00 p.m. | Benilde Blazers | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | L 81–94 | 13–5 |
| Game Highs: Points: Quinto – 22; Rebounds: Ambohot, Calvo, Quinto – 7; Assists: Calvo – 7 ||||||
| Third place at 13 wins–5 losses (7 wins–2 losses in the 2nd round) ||||||
| Final Four ||||||
| Oct 26 | 1:30 p.m. | Lyceum Pirates | Filoil Flying V Centre • San Juan | L 85–109 | 0–1 (13–6) |
| Game Highs: Points: Muyang – 21; Rebounds: Muyang – 12; Assists: Quinto – 7 ||||||
| Lost series in one game ||||||
Times listed above are in UTC+08:00
* ↑ Lyceum held a twice-to-beat advantage over Letran

## Awards

| Player | Award |
| JP Calvo | Player of the Week — July 15–20 |
| Bong Quinto | Player of the Week — August 19–24 |
| Bong Quinto | NCAA Mythical Five member |
| Jerrick Balanza | Player of the Week — September 2–8 |
| Koy Galvelo | Player of the Week — September 23–29 |
| Larry Muyang | Player of the Week — October 1–6 |
| Larry Muyang | NCAA Rookie of the Year |