For Letran's first game in the NCAA Season 98, head coach Bonnie Tan said it took all the heart and luck for his wards to come alive and pull through with a 101-97 overtime win against Jose Rizal University.
While it was a team effort still, Kurt Reyson made the difference in the waning seconds of regulation when he fired a clutch three off a steal of his own which enabled the Knights to march on in overtime.
"For the JRU's game na talaga kaya lang nai-shoot pa natin last -- ni Kurt Reyson," said Tan post-game at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan Wednesday, Sept. 14.
Reyson posted a game-high performance of 31 points built on a 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc along with five rebounds and five assists.
He also went perfect from the free-throw line, draining all of his seven attempts.
Just when the Heavy Bombers are about to celebrate, Reyson delivered when it mattered the most after Reyson picked up the ball off an inbound turnover from Agem Miranda and fired the three-pointer from transition with 5.0 seconds left.
This moment turned out to be a heartbreaking scene for JRU as John Amores, who was responsible for the next inbound play, overthrew the ball which resulted in Letran taking over the possession.
Reyson, against the pesky defense of Ry Dela Rosa, however, stepped on the line with 3.7 ticks left as Jason Celis' potential game-winning three-pointer went too strong.
In overtime though, the Knights still had the last laugh as they took their first win of the season while the Bombers fell to a 0-2 record.
Tan, for his part, was all praises for the efforts of Reyson, who endured and fought cramps en route to a nail-biting victory and a performance to remember.
"'Di naman pwersado 'yong mga tira . Wala na akong masabi sa bata na 'yon. For me, it's time for him to step up," said the Knights tactician. "Kasi dati pa natin siya nao-overshadow, ng mga veterans .
"So 'yon lang, I'm just happy with the win. Going to the game talagang blindfolded kami. hindi pa naman alam kung paano manalo, 'di pa namin alam sino mga first five namin. We're just blessed na na pull through namin 'to."
Aside from Reyson, King Caralipio hammered down 14 points and 11 rebounds while Brent Paraiso and Fran Yu finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.