Best-of-three NCAA finals series begins
San Beda and Letran dispute championship again
SEASON 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball ushers in the championship phase with the best-of-three finals series between four-peat-seeking San Beda Red Lions and rivals Letran Knights kicking off today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
After four months of classification play and step-ladder semifinals, left standing are the Lions and Knights, who are once again disputing the NCAA title after three years.
San Beda earned a direct trip to the finals after sweeping the elimination round and going 18-0, rendering in the process the semifinals as a step-ladder setup.
In the finals, the Lions bring with them their top-ranked defense, which only allowed 61.7 points a game in the eliminations. On offense, they are not doing badly either, averaging 80.7 points, good for fourth in the league.
Leading the way for San Beda is just-named season most valuable player Calvin Oftana, who is averaging solid all-around numbers of 15.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 blocks.
James Canlas is backstopping him with 14.1 points, 5.6 boards and 2.8 assists with foreign student athlete Donald Tankoua adding 13.2 points and 7.5 boards.
Point guard Evan Nelle, meanwhile, has been good for 10.2 points, 6.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
As a team, the Lions are the leaders in a number of categories, including total field goal percentage (44.7%), three-point field goal percentage (33.2%) and assists (19.2 dimes) as well as the least turnover-prone (14.5 miscues per outing).
“It’s a bit of a fulfilment on my part that we got the sweep. But our work is not yet done. It’s going to be a tough finals whoever we are going to face,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez.
FOUR-PEAT SPOILERS?
Looking to derail the four-peat aspirations of the Lions are the Knights, who are riding a huge momentum after successfully overcoming the two hurdles in the step-ladder in convincing fashion.
Third-seeded Letran first won past the number four team San Sebastian Stags, 85-80, on Nov. 5 before topping second seeds Lyceum Pirates, 92-88, on Nov. 8 to barge into the finals of NCAA Season 95.
Against the Pirates, the Knights rode the game-long brilliance of guard Fran Yu, who finished with 20 points and six assists.
Also stepping up for Letran were veterans Larry Muyang, Bonbon Batiller and Jerrick Balanza, who all scored 11 points or more.
It was close match for much of the time until the Knights made some separation early in the fourth quarter, holding an 84-72 lead with five minutes left.
The Pirates desperately tried to rally back but they would fall short as Letran held strong to preserve the victory and earn the finals ticket.
“I give it to our veterans. They never gave up and they really wanted to beat Lyceum and advance to the finals,” said Letran coach Bonnie Tan after they clinched a finals seat.
In the elimination round, San Beda defeated Letran, 70-66, in the first round, and 75-63 in the second round.
Back in Season 91 when the two teams last met in the finals, the Knights topped the Lions in their best-of-three series, 2-1.