WORDS: Nathaniel T. Dela Cruz of Ubelt.com
August 11 - Colegio de San Juan de Letran uncorked a scorching third quarter offensive to make up for its lackluster first quarter and repulse Jose Rizal University, 70-55, in the men's basketball of the 82nd National Collegiate Athletic Association held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and I think that is what happened to us in the second half when the boys started playing tough defense and finished the game with poise," said Letran coach Louie Alas.
The Knights solidified its claim for a twice to beat advantage in the Final Four, as the Intramuros-based squad currently totes a 9-1 win loss card similar to that of first round tormentor and idle San Beda College.
The Heavy Bombers slid to 2-8 and is now critically at the brink of being shut out of the semifinals showdown.
The Knights started lethargic, allowing the Heavy Bombers, led by James Sena and John Wilson, to post a double digit lead in the first canto, 21-11, courtesy of a short jumper by Sena with 1.29 left in the game clock.
Both Sena and Wilson attacked the paint and the perimeter in the first 10 minutes of action and leading the JRU charge with eight points apiece. The guns of the duo however was silenced in the remaining period after Letran clamped down on defense.
After a solid 21-point output in the first quarter, JRU was held to a meager five points in the second quarter, enabling the Knights to take the upperhand going into the second half of the hostilities.
Letran blitzed to its biggest lead of the game at 23 after Mark Balneg nailed a short jumper off a pass from guard Rey Dangcal for a 53-30 spread, 3:47 left in the third period, capping a furious rally staged by the slamdunking Andro Quinday, Hafer Mondragon and Aaron Aban.
"I believe that it will be hard to win in this tournament if we continue giving away easy baskets. Defense will make things happen here for any team and that is what we used to be able to get back in the game," Alas said, adding that ‘defense was our fallback' down the stretch.
Four Knights finished in double figures, led by spitfire guard and Philippine Basketball Association hopeful Boyet Bautista, who was scoreless in the first quarter and finished with16 points while Aban, another Knights currently in the professional basketball draft pool, had 14 markers across his name. Fiel Daa and Mondragon chipped in 12 and 11 points respectively.
Bautista was horrible from the field, making just four in his 15 attempts although the senior guard made up for a steady afternoon in from the 15 foot line, missing just one free throw shot for a 83 percent clip on a 5-out-of-6 shooting.
Wilson, who shot 3-of-8 from behind the arc, finished with 13 points for JRU and a rebound shy of a double-double with nine caroms while Sena contributed 10 points.
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