By Waylon Galvez
Games Friday
(Mall of Asia Arena Pasay City)
1 p.m. – Lyceum vs San Beda (Jrs)
3 p.m. – Awarding Ceremony
4 p.m. – Letran San Beda vs (Srs)
Letran rode on the heroics of Fran Yu and outlasted erstwhile unbeaten San Beda University, 65-64, in Game 1 of the NCAA best-of-three finals series Tuesday night at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
Yu, a third year point guard who was the hero in Letran’s win against No. 2 seed Lyceum in the stepladder playoffs last week, made the crucial plays on both ends.
Yu’s assist on Larry Muyang for an easy basket inside the shaded lane gave the Knights a 65-62 lead with 1:27 left in the game. He followed that up with a steal on Calvin Oftana.
San Beda cut the deficit to just one point when Evan Nelle converted a layup to make it 65-64 with 37.5 seconds left.
The biggest play Yu made came when he collared the rebound after Oftana missed a three-point shot. Fouled by Evan Nelle, he muffed his first foul shot, and intentionally missed the second as time expired which triggered a wild celebration.
Letran players celebrated the victory at center court as the Knights snapped their rival’s 18-0 perfect winning streak during the elimination round that propelled the Red Lions to the finals series outright.
Yu finished with 10 points while graduating players Bonbon Batiller and Jerrick Balanza scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Letran’s win gave the school a 1-0 record in the title showdown, or just a victory away from winning it all after bagging the championship back in 2015 under then mentor Aldin Ayo.
Despite the win, Letran’s first year mentor Bonnie Tan refused to be swayed.
“One game pa lang naman. We are happy for the win, pero hindi pa din tapos ito,” said Tan. “Although we have the momentum, nakuha namin ang Game 1, sana hindi na pakawala ng players ko.”
“Sila naman ang naglalaro. Kung gusto nila, kunin nila (championship in Game 2). Kami we’re just here (as coaches) to guide. I told the players to play for the school, the alma mater and for their family.”
Letran can end the title series and win its 18th championship with another victory in Game 2 on Friday at the same venue.
San Beda, which came to the series on a 24-day break, got 20 points from Nelle, while Oftana – the league MVP – was held to just 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
San Beda’s Cameroonian center Donald Tankoua also struggled offensively with seven points but he collared 13 rebounds as he battled different Letran defenders in Muyang, Chris Balagasay and Jeo Ambohot.
The scores:
LETRAN 65 – Batiller 12, Balanza 10, Yu 10, Ambohot 9, Muyang 7, Reyson 7, Mina 3, Ular 3, Caralipio 2, Sangalang 2, Balagasay 0, Olivario 0.
SAN BEDA 64 – Nelle 20, Canlas 11, Oftana 11, Tankoua 7, Soberano 6, Bahio 4, Doliguez 3, Etrata 2, Abuda 0, Cuntapay 0, Alfaro 0.
Quarters: 17-18; 28-32; 47-44; 65-64.
