2024 Letran Knights basketball team

2024 Letran Knights men's basketball
Record
Elims rank	#6
2024 record	8-10
Head coach	Allen Ricardo (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Mike Buendia Rey Nambatac Kris Reyes Yon Wallace
Captain	Paolo Javillonar Kobe Monje (5th & 3rd season)
Seasons ←  2023 2025 →

The 2024 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the centennial season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2024-25 began on September 7, 2024, and the host school for the season is Lyceum of the Philippines University. ^[1]

The Knights finished the eliminations at sixth place with eight wins and ten losses, an improvement from last year's disastrous season. They missed the Final Four for the second consecutive time. ^[2]

Letran big man Kevin Santos earned a spot in the All-Defensive Team honors. ^[3]

Coaching changes

Letran officials named former Letran Squires' mentor and alumnus Allen Ricardo as the new head coach of the Knights after previous head coach Rensy Bajar agreed to a buyout of his contract. ^[4]

Joining Ricardo on the side lines are former Letran Knight and current PBA player Rey Nambatac, and Mike Buendia, who had a stint with the Knights as an assistant coach in 2013.

Roster changes

The Knights lost five of its key players from previous season. Kurt Reyson graduated from college, while Kint Ariar and Kyle Tolentino decided to forego their remaining playing years. NCAA Season 99 Freshman of the Year Jay Garupil transferred to JRU, while Paolo Galvez transferred to FEU.

Transferees Jimboy Estrada and Edzel Galoy will finally play for the Knights after redshirting for a year. Estrada previously played in NAASCU for St. Clare College of Caloocan, while Galoy was a former Altas player who last played in Season 97 & 98. ^[5] Meanwhile, former De La Salle Green Archer point guard Nate Montecillo will also suit up for the Knights. ^[6]

Among the rookies who will suit up for the Knights are former Letran Squire Jovel Baliling, CJ Delfino, Fil-Am Jace Miller, and big man Christian Vergara.

Discipline

• Letran captain Pao Javillonar was initially handed a three-game suspension after being listed in the lineup of the PBA team Converge FiberXers during the 39th Kadayawan Invitational Tournament in Davao last July. ^[7] Javillonar was drafted 19th overall by the FiberXers. After Letran officials appealed his case, the NCAA Management Committee decided to reduce his suspension to two games. Javillonar missed the Knights' first two games against San Sebastian and JRU. ^[8]
• Letran rookie guard Jimboy Estrada was handed a one-game suspension after he was ejected late in the fourth quarter of their game against Perpetual Altas in the second round after getting whistled for a technical foul following an unsportsmanlike behavior towards one of the game officials. ^[9]

Roster

Letran Knights roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Year High School G 91 Baliling, Jovel 5'11" (1.8m) 1 Colegio de San Juan de Letran G 29 Cuajao, Vincent Petdeo D. 6'1" (1.85m) 2 Holy Child College of Davao G 17 Delfino, Charles Jacob 5'10" (1.78m) 1 St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga F 15 Dimaano, Charles Ian 6'4" (1.93m) 1 De La Salle Zobel G 26 Estrada, John Sherick 6'0" (1.83m) 1 St. Clare College Caloocan SG 25 Galoy, Edzel II 6'2" (1.88m) 3 University of Perpetual Help System DALTA F 8 Go, Rafael S. 6'5" (1.96m) 3 Chiang Kai Shek College PF 9 Javillonar, Marc Paolo J. (C) 6'6" (1.98m) 5 Nazareth School-NU PG 20 Jumao-as, James 6'0" (1.83m) 2 University of Santo Tomas SF 39 Monje, Kobe Bryan  (C) 6'3" (1.91m) 3 Colegio de San Juan de Letran PG 7 Montecillo, Nathaniel 5'9" (1.75m) 1 UP Integrated School PF 1 Nunag, Joseph Jr. 6'5" (1.96m) 2 Dela Paz Libutad High School SF 19 Pradella, James Andreus 6'2" (1.88m) 1 Nazareth School-NU C 4 Santos, Kevin Kyle 6'6" (1.98m) 3 St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga G 24 Sarza, Mark Jade 6'3" (1.91m) 1 University of the East G 16 Tagotongan, Klein 5'9" (1.75m) 1 Nazareth School-NU C 33 Vergara, Christian Danielle 6'9" (2.06m) 1 St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga PG 2 Miller-Aquinginoc, Jace James 5'9" (1.75m) 1 Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School	Head coach Joseph Allen Ricardo Assistant coach(es) Michael Gregg Buendia Rey Benedict Nambatac Kristoffer Reyes Bong Solian Mac Villarba Yon Wallace Viane Lariosa Jr. Strength & conditioning coach(es) Brian Cay Team manager John Paul Beltrano Legend (C) Team captain Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Santos	Nunag	Go
PF	Javillonar	Dimaano	Pradella
SF	Cuajao	Monje	Galoy
SG	Estrada	Jumao-as	Baliling
PG	Montecillo	Miller	Delfino

NCAA Season 100 games results

Further information: NCAA Season 100 basketball tournaments

Elimination games are played in a double round-robin format. All games are aired on GTV and Heart of Asia Channel, and livestreamed via the Facebook pages and YouTube channels of NCAA Philippines and GMA Sports.

Date	Time	Opponent	Venue	Result	Record
First round of eliminations
Sep 8	12:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	L 84-91	0-1
Game Highs: Points: Jumao-as, Monje – 16 each; Rebounds: Santos – 10; Assists: Cuajao, Estrada, Santos – 3 each
Sep 13	12:00 p.m.	JRU Heavy Bombers	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 70-62	1-1
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 22; Rebounds: Estrada – 9; Assists: Miller – 5
Sep 17	11:00 a.m.	Arellano Chiefs	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 86-79	2-1
Game Highs: Points: Javillonar – 28; Rebounds: Estrada, Javillonar – 8 each; Assists: Miller – 3
Sep 20	2:30 p.m.	Mapúa Cardinals	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	L 62-77	2-2
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 19; Rebounds: Estrada – 9; Assists: Estrada – 6
Sep 22	2:30 p.m.	Benilde Blazers	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 71-69	3-2
Game Highs: Points: Cuajao – 20; Rebounds: Estrada – 5; Assists: Montecillo – 6
Sep 25	2:30 p.m.	EAC Generals	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 75-73	4-2
Game Highs: Points: Santos – 17; Rebounds: Nunag – 7; Assists: Estrada – 7
Sep 28	2:30 p.m.	Perpetual Altas	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 82-733OT	5-2
Game Highs: Points: Cuajao – 19; Rebounds: Estrada, Santos – 15 each; Assists: Estrada – 7
Oct 1	2:30 p.m.	San Beda Red Lions	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	L 64-66	5-3
Game Highs: Points: Santos – 18; Rebounds: Nunag – 10; Assists: Estrada – 8
Oct 5	2:30 p.m.	Lyceum Pirates	Filoil EcoOil Centre • San Juan	W 78-66	6-3
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 19; Rebounds: Santos – 11; Assists: Estrada – 7
4th place with 6 wins–3 losses after 1st round
Second round of eliminations
Oct 11	12:00 p.m.	Lyceum Pirates	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 68-91	6-4
Game Highs: Points: Cuajao – 16; Rebounds: Santos – 10; Assists: Estrada – 4
Oct 13	12:00 p.m.	Perpetual Altas	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 61-71	6-5
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 14; Rebounds: Estrada, Santos – 7 each; Assists: Estrada – 10
Oct 18	2:30 p.m.	Mapúa Cardinals	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 78-86	6-6
Game Highs: Points: Miller, Monje – 14 each; Rebounds: Santos – 6; Assists: Montecillo – 4
Oct 22	11:00 a.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	W 101-982OT	7-6
Game Highs: Points: Cuajao – 34; Rebounds: Santos – 11; Assists: Montecillo – 6
Oct 26	2:30 p.m.	JRU Heavy Bombers	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 86-90	7-7
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 29; Rebounds: Go – 11; Assists: Estrada – 5
Oct 30	11:00 a.m.	EAC Generals	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 58-68	7-8
Game Highs: Points: Estrada, Nunag – 10 each; Rebounds: Estrada – 14; Assists: Estrada – 6
Nov 8	2:30 p.m.	Benilde Blazers	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 78-83	7-9
Game Highs: Points: Javillonar – 31; Rebounds: Estrada – 8; Assists: Estrada – 11
Nov 10	2:30 p.m.	San Beda Red Lions	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	W 75-71	8-9
Game Highs: Points: Estrada – 24; Rebounds: Estrada, Javillonar – 5 each; Assists: Estrada – 9
Nov 13	11:00 a.m.	Arellano Chiefs	Filoil EcoOil Center • San Juan	L 65-67	8-10
Game Highs: Points: Monje – 24; Rebounds: Javillonar – 8; Assists: Cuajao, Estrada – 4 each
6th place after the 2nd round (2 wins–7 losses in the 2nd round)

Times listed above are in UTC+08:00

Source: Pong Ducanes, Imperium Technology, Inc.

Awards

Player	Award
Kevin Santos	NCAA All-Defensive Team

References

1. Ramos, Gerry (July 1, 2024). "Lyceum given honor of hosting NCAA's centennial season". SPIN.ph. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
2. Anzures, Rom (November 13, 2024). "NCAA: Arellano hands Letran heartbreak, ends Knights' Final 4 aspirations". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
3. Anzures, Rom (December 7, 2024). "NCAA: College of Saint Benilde's Allen Liwag is Season 100 MVP, DPOY". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
4. Anzures, Rom (May 30, 2024). "NCAA: Letran officially names Allen Ricardo as Knights' head coach, Willie Miller to lead the Squires". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
5. Li, Matthew (August 19, 2023). "NAASCU MVP Jimboy Estrada transfers to Letran". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
6. Valderrama, Aeron Paul (May 20, 2023). "Letran gets commitments of Napalang, Montecillo, four others". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
7. Tuazon, Ernest (September 3, 2024). "Letran appeals Pao Javillonar's three-game suspension". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
8. Ramos, Gerry (September 6, 2024). "Pao Javillonar suspension reduced to 2 games after Letran appeal". SPIN.ph. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
9. Micaller, Bea (October 16, 2024). "NCAA denies Letran's appeal; Jimboy Estrada faces one-game suspension". GMA News. Retrieved October 16, 2024.