By REYNALD MAGALLON
Letran displayed its championship poise in the final minutes and repulsed a hard-fighting Perpetual Help 77-75, to book the first seat in the NCAA Season 97 Finals Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Fran Yu finished what Rhenz Abando had started, delivering the last seven points for the Knights before holding on to its defense to fend off a last-ditch run from the Altas and keep their back-to-back bid alive.
Abando tied his career-high 24 points spearheading a huge third quarter explosion for the Knights to seize control of the game after trailing by three, 39-36 at the half.
Yu finished 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while Jeo Ambohot had a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Letran head coach Bonnie Tan lauded the end game composure of his wards as they didn’t falter in the face of a furious rally from the Altas who came back from eight points down early in the fourth.
“Let’s work on our experience. ‘Yun yung advantage natin, yung experience para maging compose sa huli and lumabas naman kahit papano ‘yung winning attitude nila, yung experience nila on how to close out games,” said Tan.
At the forefront of that end game stand was Yu who kept the Knights’ head above the water with timely hits down the stretch.
Meantime, Ralph Penuela and James Kwekuteye provided the spark as San Beda outlasted Mapua in overtime, 73-67, and forced a do-or-die in their own semis battle.
The Red Lions battled back from 10 points down in the final seven minutes of regulation before clamping down on both ends of the floor in the extra period to force a winner-take-all on Wednesday.
It was Penuela who sent the game into overtime after making the put back off a Kwekuteye miss to tie the game 60-all with 2.8 seconds left.
San Beda then made sure not to waste the opportunity as Kwekuteye, Penuela and Peter Alfaro conspired in the extra five minutes to take the victory.
Kwekuteye, despite nursing an ankle injury, finished with 17 points and four assists without a single turnover in 23 minutes of play while Penuela and Jacob Cortez added 13 markers apiece.
“Sa players ko kung gusto talaga nila manalo mananalo sila kasi sila naman naglalaro sa loob. We just guide them where to go tell them what to do. I’m happy that they executed really well in the fourth quarter in the last seven minutes,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
“After that, ‘nung nag overtime, I just told them ‘hey they gave us a chance don’t lose this chance’ kasi minsan lang ito mapunta sa atin eh,” he added.
San Beda indeed made the most of the opportunity in the waning minutes after Mapua failed to close out the game despite having multiple chances in the regulation.
The Cardinals led by10 points twice early in the final frame – the last one at 48-38 after a Warren Bonifacio tip-in. That’s when San Beda embarked on a 14-4 blast which tied the game at 52-all after the free throws from Kwekuteye.
Bonifacio paced Mapua with 18 points while Paolo Hernandez who was the catalyst of the Cardinals’ third quarter run finished with 14 points.
The scores:
First Game
LETRAN 77 ‒ Abando 24, Ambohot 14, Yu 13, Paraiso 7, Sangalang 7, Olivario 5, Javillonar 4, Reyson 2, Mina 1, Caralipio 0, Fajarito 0.
PERPETUAL 75 ‒ Razon 21, Egan 14, Abis 11, Pagaran 8, Omega 7, Boral 6, Barcuma 4, Cuevas 4, Martel 0, Kawamura 0, Sevilla 0.
Quarters: 20-17, 36-39, 62-55, 77-75.
Second Game
SAN BEDA 73 ‒ Kwekuteye 17, Cortez 13, Penuela 13, Bahio 9, Alfaro 9, Cometa 3, Jopia 2, Sanchez 2, Abuda 2, Amsali 2, Gallego 1, Cuntapay 0, Andrada 0, Fornis 0, Ynot 0.
MAPUA 67 ‒ Bonifacio 18, Hernandez 14, Lacap 12, Nocum 9, Agustin 5, Salenga 4. Gamboa 4, Garcia 1, Pido 0, Asuncion 0, Mercado 0.
Quarters: 6-12, 25-25, 33-41, 60-60, 73-67
