Just as when San Sebastian College needed him most, Jhuniel Dela Rama saved the day as they ended their five-game slump in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-2 guard — the league’s top rebounder with 12.2 per game — stunned his former team, Letran College, by draining the game-winner for an 82-81 victory to notch their second win in nine games.

However, the Leyte native said that aside from proving his worth against the Knights, another factor that motivated him was showing that he is more than just rebounding.

“With Letran’s size, I might have a hard time getting rebounds, so I also focused on my offense,” said Dela Rama, who marked 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals against the Knights.

“We also needed a scorer, so I just stepped up,” added Dela Rama, whose rebounding average is better than players taller than him like College of Saint Benilde’s Allen Liwag, who has nine rebounds per game, and Letran’s Kevin Santos, who norms 8.2 pulls per contest.

Golden Stags head coach Rob Labagala said he had no doubts about Dela Rama’s prowess, saying that he knew exactly whom to go to in the endgame. 

“It was a designed isolation play for him, and he deserves that moment because he is very hardworking,” Labagala said of his rookie, who is also averaging 13.1 points, 2.2 assists, and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc this season.

Translating these numbers into more wins, however, will now be the challenge as San Sebastian have to win its last four games to gain a chance to advance to the next round.