Knights outduel Stags
THE campaign of the Letran Knights in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 is still alive after they outdueled the San Sebastian Stags in their knockout step-ladder semifinal match, 85-80, on Tuesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Had their offense clicking from practically all cylinders, the Knights rendered themselves too hard to keep in step with for the Stags for much of the contest, booking the win that sent them to the next level of the step-ladder against the second-seeded Lyceum Pirates on Nov. 8.
Allen Mina got the Knights to a strong start, draining two triples early to help his team to a 10-3 lead with 5:41 to go in the opening quarter.
But the Stags would be able to recover on the lead of Allyn Bulanadi and RK Ilagan as they were able to come to within two points, 10-8, less than a minute after.
The two teams went back and forth after before Letran made a late dash to finish the first period to hold a 23-20 cushion in the end.
San Sebastian came out charging in the second quarter but Letran continued to hold sway, 35-32, with four minutes to go.
The Knights then went on a 9-0 run in the next two minutes to build their biggest lead at that point of 12 points, 44-32.
The Stags tried to make up for lost ground in the remaining moments of the frame with little success however as Letran was still on top by double digits, 50-40, by the halftime break.
Recognizing they allowed the Knights to create some considerable distance as the first half drew to a close, San Sebastian made its move early in the third, slashing its deficit to half, 52-47, with just two minutes lapsing.
The Knights though responded with seven quick points to build a wider gap anew of 59-47 at the seven-minute mark.
It was a momentum shift that they would put into good use, tapping it as leverage to stretch their lead some more, 66-51, by the 2:30 juncture of the quarter.
Ilagan still tried to make things happen for the Stags, helping his team to stay within striking distance, 69-59, heading into the payoff period.
The Stags opened the fourth with four straight points inside the first minute to cut Letran’s lead to six points, 69-63.
Graduating players Jerrick Balanza and Bonbon Batiller then steadied the ship for Letran, conspiring to lead their team to an 8-0 run to mount a 14-point cushion, 77-63, with seven minutes to go.
Ilagan was undeterred, going on an 8-0 run of his own to pull his team to within six, 77-71, midway.
The Stags continued to put the pressure on the Knights from there.
The count stood at 79-73, with Letran still on top, with three minutes remaining.
Larry Muyang scored two from the charity line after to make it 81-73 only to be answered by San Sebastian veteran Alvin Capobres with an and-one play to keep the Stags in the game, 81-76, entering the last two minutes.
Capobres added another point from the free throw line with 1:45 to go to make it a four-point affair, 81-77.
The Stags managed to retain the ball off an out-of-bounds play and capitalized on it with Ilagan draining a triple to push San Sebastian to within one point, 81-80, with 1:38 to play.
King Caralipio gave the Knights more breathing space, 83-80, when he scored off the break with 59 seconds to go.
San Sebastian sued for time, but off the timeout Ilagan was forced by the Knights’ defense to a backcourt violation, sending the ball back to Letran.
Letran tried to add to its lead but to no avail.
Still in the contest, the Stags made its move to pull even but their push was dashed when Capobres turned the ball over.
Balanza had a chance to put the game away from the free throw line with 13 seconds to go but muffed his shots.
Fran Yu though came to the rescue of the Knights, getting the rebound and making his free throws to make it 85-80 to preserve the win.
As a team, Letran shot a solid 47.5% (29-of-61) with Balanza leading with 15 points, followed by Batiller with 14.
Mina, Muyang, Ato Ular and Yu all scored 10 points or more for the Knights.
For San Sebastian it was Ilagan who led with a career-high 36 points, followed by Bulanadi with 15 markers.