By CARLO ANOLIN
Fran Yu sank a huge three-pointer at crunch time and helped lift defending champion Letran to a pulsating 67-62 win over Mapua in the NCAA Season 98 Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
In the rematch of Season 97 finalists, the Knights and Cardinals played their hearts out right from the start that led to a wild and exciting finish.
It was not only a tight game, but also a rugged one.
But just like their title series the last time, Yu was there to deliver the death blow, beating the shot clock to finally take the fight out of the Cardinals.
Yu, who sparked the Knights’ 10-0 run in the final quarter, finished with 15 points built on three treys apart from posting five assists and three steals while Paolo Javillonar had 14 points.
King Caralipio showed who’s boss in the paint as he posted eight points and 11 rebounds while Kurt Reyson chipped in eight points for Letran as well.
The Knights, who lost Brent Paraiso to a disqualifying foul midway in the fourth, improved to 3-1 while the Cards dropped to 1-4.
“Hindi lang physical, very physical game. We’re expecting that pero kami [ang parang] natalo sa huli dahil meron kaming two players na na-thrown out sa endgame,” said Knights head coach Bonnie Tan, referring to Paraiso and Javillonar.
Paraiso was slapped with a disqualifying foul which resulted in an ejection while Javillonar followed suit with a bad landing on his right foot after a scrappy entanglement with Jopet Soriano.
Louie Sangalang was also called for a technical foul due to taunting, clapping his hands after a Mapua turnover with 13.8 left, and exhausted all of his personal fouls late in the game.
“A win is a win pero ayon nga, looking forward sa next game natin hindi ko na alam kung ano mangyayari kasi after two days we’ll be playing against San Beda [this Friday]. Dikit-dikit e.”
The Cardinals saw a glimmer of hope after Arvin Gamboa, who was struggling from the field, drained a three-pointer when it mattered the most with 2:20 remaining.
Mapua took momentum on that Gamboa three as Carl Lacap, who paced the Cardinals with 12 points and three assists, took charge and capped the Cardinals’ mini run with back-to-back baskets to cut the deficit down to two, 61-59.
But Yu’s presence alone proved to be the spoiler as he took the wild three-pointer shot against Lacap with 46.7 ticks to go to regain a 64-59 lead.
Soriano’s putback off a Gamboa miss in the next possession pumped life for the Cardinals with 42.1 seconds left but Reyson and Kevin Santos iced the game with a couple of free throws for the win.
The scores:
LETRAN 67 ˗ Yu 15, Javillonar 14, Caralipio 8, Reyson 8, Monje 7, Sangalang 6, Paraiso 5, Santos 3, Olivario 1, Miclat 0, Tolentino 0.
MAPUA 62 ˗ Lacap 12, Salenga 11, Hernandez 9, Nocum 8, Soriano 6, Pido 6, Bonifacio 4, Gamboa 4, Parinas 2, Garcia 0, Igliane 0.
Quarters: 10-15, 32-33, 46-48, 67-62.
