Generals knock Knights out of Final Four contention

MANILA, Philippines -- The EAC Generals strengthened their Final Four bid after scoring a crucial 82-69 win over the Letran Knights Friday afternoon at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

At the same time, the Generals dashed the Knights’ four-peat hopes after officially eliminating the defending champions from semis contention.

It was a wire-to-wire affair for the Generals, who drew big performances from JP Maguliano, Nat Cosejo and Ralph Robin.

After trailing by as much as 16 points in the first half, the Knights cut the deficit to five, 41-46, in the third quarter after a layup by Kevin Santos.

But the Generals found their groove anew and built a 17-point lead, 68-51, after a layup by Robin with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Generals then cruised to the finish line.

Maguliano finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds for EAC.

Cosejo had a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards for the Generals, while Robin had 16 markers.

Kobe Monje led Letran with 14 points and seven rebounds.

EAC rose to a 7-5 win-loss slate, while Letran dropped to 1-11.