Defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran inched closer to winning a second consecutive title after escaping a gutsy Mapua University team, 68-63, in Game 1 of the NCAA Season 97 men’s basketball finals on Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
It was unbeaten Letran’s 11th straight win of the season, and the Knights now take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
But they first needed to overcome a big challenge from a game Mapua team that led for nearly the entire game, before Letran's big game experience emerged in the final minutes.
Brent Paraiso and Louie Sangalang led Letran with game-high scoring honors of 14 points apiece. Paraiso also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while Sangalang tallied seven rebounds and two blocks.
They also drew some big crunch-time plays from veterans Fran Yu and Jeo Ambohot.
Mapua opened the game with a 13-5 run and hung onto the lead as they led by nine points after one and seven points, 39-32, at the halftime break.
But Letran made its move in the third period as they went on a 9-2 run, capped by back-to-back buckets from Paraiso, to tie the game at 49-apiece.
The Cardinals, though, scored the last five points of the third and kept the Knights at bay again for a good part of the fourth.
A huge three-pointer from Rence Nocum gave Mapua a four-point lead, 62-58, with 3:20 left in the contest.
Letran entered the last two minutes still down by four points, but went on a late 9-0 run to to take a 67-62 advantage with 10 seconds remaining.
Yu split from the line to open the rally and converted on a jumper off an offensive rebound to bring Letran to within one, 62-61, with 1:08 left on the clock. Ambohot then scored on a floater to give the Knights their first taste of the lead, 63-62, with just 45 seconds left in the game.
After a free throw from Sangalang, Yu again made a huge play, finding Paraiso on a backdoor cut that made it 66-62.
Another Letran free throw made it nine unanswered points, and gave the Knights a 67-62 lead with just 10 seconds remaining.
The Knights were able to buck the early exit of Rhenz Abando, who suffered an injury late in the third period. Abando finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes and 37 seconds of action.
Warren Bonifacio led Mapua with 10 points and 14 rebounds while Arvin Gamboa also finished with 10 for the Cardinals.
Game 2 of the series will be played on Sunday, May 22, also at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The scores:
Letran 68 - Paraiso 14, Sangalang 14, Abando 13, Yu 6, Ambohot 6, Reyson 6, Javillonar 4, Caralipio 3, Mina 2, Olivario 0, Fajarito 0.
Mapua 63 - Bonifacio 10, Gamboa 10, Agustin 9, Hernandez 8, Lacap 7, Nocum 6, Mercado 5, Pido 5, Garcia 3, Salenga 0.
Quarters: 15-24, 32-39, 49-54, 68-63.
—JMB, GMA News
