JIMBOY Estrada rose to the occasion as Colegio de San Juan de Letran became the first team to secure a twice-to-beat advantage heading into the NCAA Season 102 men's basketball quarterfinals.
Playing in their sixth game without injured star guard Jonathan Manalili, the Knights turned to Estrada, whose offensive explosion powered Letran to a 91-77 win over Arellano University and the top seed in Group B.
Estrada's timely performance also earned him the Collegiate Press Corps Player of the Week honors for Oct. 26 to 30.
The third-year guard delivered on both ends with 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range, along with four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, as Letran stretched its lead to as many as 23 points.
Estrada also came through when the Chiefs made their winning push in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points on two triples after Arellano trimmed the deficit to 10 with just over six minutes remaining.
The 24-year-old, however, said it was simply a matter of stepping up for his teammates as the Knights moved deeper into the crucial stages of the season.
"For my part, individually, I practice that," said Estrada, who matched his season-high in scoring as Letran avenged its 82-81 first-round loss to Arellano.
"Credits to my teammates, because I wouldn't have gotten those points if we hadn't played defense," he added.
With two games left in their group-stage schedule, the Knights now turn their focus to carrying that momentum into the playoffs.
Head coach Allen Ricardo wants Estrada to continue setting the tone, not just with his scoring but also with his defensive consistency.
"What I said was, we need to prioritize our defense, then everything will be easier for us. Our mentality is to turn defense into offense. We aren't looking at the twice-to-beat advantage," said Ricardo.
Estrada edged Jose Rizal University's Sanlea Peñaverde, San Beda University's Dan Marcelo, Emilio Aguinaldo College's Jude Bagay and College of Saint Benilde's Jhomel Ancheta for the weekly citation.
