LETRAN poured its might in the second half to pull the rug from under defending champion San Beda, 94-68, on Friday for its second straight win in the NCAA juniors basketball tournament at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym.

The Red Cubs stacked up leads of as many as 16 points but the Squires stayed glued together and stormed back with a telling 26-12 run in the third quarter to erect a 67-53 advantage.

Letran never looked back from there to join the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta and Mapua on top of the standings.

Hotshot Amiel Acido had 19 points, 18 rebounds, and three assists while Cristian Vergara added 13 points, six steals, five assists, and four rebounds as the Junior Altas carved out an 82-77 victory over CSB-La Salle Green Hills in the other game.

Aki Valiña tallied 12 points and five rebounds while Lance Masiglat chipped in 10 points and 11 boards as the Mapua Red Robins used a strong third period to defeat Jose Rizal University, 76-62.

Perpetual and Mapua also rose to 2-0.

Emman Anabo had a double-double outing of 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jonathan Manalili contributed 22 points, six assists, four boards, and two blocks while Andy Gemao tallied 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the Squires.

The Red Robins, who also got 12 points from Nicolo Mulingtapang, held the Light Bombers to just 20 points in the second half after allowing them to score 42 in the first 20 minutes of play.

In the duel of Cavite-based high school teams, General Trias City’s Lyceum of the Philippines University scored an 89-78 win over Dasmariñas City’s Emilio Aguinaldo College to tie San Beda and JRU at 1-1.

Matthew Rubico flirted with a triple-double of 25 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds to go along with two blocks for the Junior Pirates.

The Greenies and the Brigadiers dropped to 0-2.

The scores:

Letran (94) — Anabo 24, Manalili 22, Gemao 10, Diamante 9, Baliling 7, Hugo 7, Silorio 7, Alforque 4, Navarro 4, Cruz 0, Pagurigan 0, Reyes 0, Dural 0, Cuajao 0, Padilla 0.
San Beda (68) — Dungo 16, Hubilla 13, Lorenzo 11, Lecciones 10, Lopez 9, Ronquillo 5, Jomalesa 4, Cañete 0, Reyes 0, Ludovice 0, Lacsamana 0, Manarang 0, Sahali 0, Sollano 0.
Quarterscores: 15-24, 41-41, 67-53, 94-68