FilOil: UST tops Letran in clash between Dominican schools

With the Brothers Alas returning to the line-up, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights looked ready to pull off a victory over their sister school. Instead, the Knights folded midway through the joust, with Coach Louie Alas finding himself ejected after throwing diatribes against a referee, and top Knight Kevin Alas sporting a poor shooting night in his return, as the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers chomped on the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 86-69, Monday, at The FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Coach Alas was asked by two other referees to leave the playing court after he singled out one official, heavily incensed by non-calls on his players. Play stopped for a good five minutes as officials caucused, until ultimately deciding to throw Coach Alas out of the court, though Letran’s coach had an extensive talk with his boys before leaving. The Knights failed to respond well to the loss of their coach, as they headed into the half trailing by 19 points, 47-28. Prior to the ejection, Coach Alas had pulled his younger son off the playing court early in the second quarter, as Kevin looked lethargic on the court, poorly receiving the ball and making wayward decisions. He would finish with seven points on 2-10 shooting, alongside three turnovers and five fouls. In stark contrast, the Growling Tigers started the first quarter ablaze, with three different players contributing four three-point field goals, while center Karim Abdul dominated down low with six markers of his own in the opening quarter. Although Abdul still looked out of sync, hauling down only seven rebounds and committing six turnovers, he led the team in scoring towards the end of the game, tallying 18 points to lead UST. With guards Mark Cruz and Kevin Alas finding no rhythm at each other’s expense, forwards Jam Cortes and Kevin Racal carried the offensive load for the Knights, scoring 18 and 16 points respectively. The UST defense failed to respect Cortes’ muscle and his outside touch, while Racal banked on quick drives to the basket. The Tigers led by as much as 19 points in the second half after two free throws by 6’4” small forward Kevin Ferrer. The Knights, meanwhile, never led the game, coming close only by a point after a three-point basket by guard Mark Cruz. UST's five starters notched a total of 59 of their side's 86 points. Aside from Abdul's 18, the Tigers' two Jerics, Teng and Fortuna, combined for 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Sophomore Ferrer added 11, while Aljon Mariano had a relatively quietly game with just seven. As a result of the UST win, both teams found themselves with identical 4-3 records. Along with De La Salle University, the three teams will do battle for two remaining top four spots in Group A. The Growling Tigers will face University of the Philippines on Saturday, with the Knights matching-up versus rivals San Beda College on the same day. - AMD, GMA News The scores: UST 86 – Abdul 18, Teng 13, Ferrer 11, Fortuna 10, Mariano 7, Lo 7, Afuang 6, Bautista 6, Vigil 4, Tan 2, Garrido 2, Hainga 0, Lao 0, Mamaril 0 CSJL 69 – Cortes 18, Racal 16, Cruz 9, Almazan 6, Alas K. 5, Pantin 5, Alas J. 4, Gabawan 3, Luib 3, Lituania 0 Quarter scoring: 30-18, 47-28, 59-46, 86-69 FilOil 052812 UST vs CSJL