NCAA: San Beda notches 17th title with dominant showing over Letran

(Updated 6:06pm) The San Beda College Red Lions continue to dominate the NCAA. Forced into a game three, the reigning titlists leaned on their championship experience to win 67-39, dismantling the host school Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, to finish on top of the 88th NCAA seniors division basketball tournament. [How did San Beda pull-off their convincing victory? Check out the play-by-play here] It is the sixth time in seven years San Beda has emerged as champions in their home league. They accomplished a three-peat from 2006 to 2008, and then forged a new one with this victory, starting from 2010. This is the second time in that stretch they've beaten Letran in the Finals round, having trounced them in two games back in 2007. Their 17 titles in the seniors division basketball tournament is also an NCAA-high number, breaking a tie with their opponents. "We played tough defense to contain the scorers," graduating point guard Anjo Caram said of his team's strategy. "Sinabi niya [head coach Ronnie Magsanoc] na hindi kami puwede mag-start ng flat sa first quarter, kaya we played tough defense sa simula pa lang." Said defense resulted in the Knights never tasting the lead the entire game, as San Beda jumped out to a 6-1 start. Kevin Alas was forced to shoulder the scoring burden, accounting for Letran's first seven points, but on the other end, San Beda was running and gunning, as a Baser Amer triple made it a 10-point game, 17-7. Luckily for Letran, a put-back by Raymond Almazan put them down by just single digits, 18-10, after the game's first quarter. Three straight hits by the Caram-Amer combo made it 24-10 before Kevin Racal finally broke the Letran dry spell with a split at the foul line, 24-11. Letran managed to climb back with a 6-0 spurt, 28-17, 4:17 left, getting Ola Adeogun's third foul in the process, but Jake Pascual and Ryusei Koga helped San Beda score six straight of their own, to establish a 34-17 lead at the half. A couple of hits in the paint by diminutive point guard Mark Cruz, followed by a Jam Cortes lay-up made it a game for the Knights to start the third, 34-23, but San Beda showed off their experience, responding with back-to-back hits by Jake Pascual. Kevin Racal nailed a jumper at the 6:11 mark to reduce their deficit to 13, 38-25, but San Beda went on a 7-0 run to end the third, resulting in a 20-point buffer headed into the final period. There, Letran failed to come up with a miracle comeback. The Red Lions had five straight from the get-go, while the Knights managed just six points in five minutes. A pair of triples by Amer and Caram had it at 62-31 with 3:29, essentially ending the game and Letran's hopes of reaching title number 17 before San Beda. Only a late basket by Letran allowed them to avoid tying the season-low scoring output by any team, 37 points by JRU, a feat achieved by San Beda's defense last August 4. "Di kami natakot. Naging lesson naming young game two," said team captain Jake Pascual. "Naging kumpiyansa kasi kami. Akala namin di kami tatalunin. Pinaghandaan namin talaga to'. "Sabi lang ni coach, 'Play as a champion.'" Caram and Pascual, both graduating, combined for 27 points to lead San Beda, while last season's Rookie of the Year Baser Amer chimed in 14, and went on to win the Finals MVP plume. The ferocious Red Lions ate up Kevin Alas, who was limited to just 11 points in the game, with an atrocious 0-of-10 clip from downtown adding to his woes. Mark Cruz led Letran with 12 points, while graduating big man Jam Cortes had just six markers. Game two hero Jonathan Belorio did not score at all. San Beda won game one by a hair, 62-60, then fell 55-64 in game two, before rallying to win the decider. After the game, Letran head coach Louie Alas announced that this would be his final season as Letran head coach, after a 10-season run that included titles in 2003 and 2005.  - Renee Fopalan / AMD, GMA News The scores: San Beda 67 - Caram 17, Amer 14, J. Pascual 10, Adeogun 6, Dela Rosa 5, Koga 4, K. Pascual 4, Mendoza 2, Abarcar 2, Ludovice 2, Dela Cruz 1, Bonsubre 0, Lim 0, Villaruz 0, Moralde 0. Letran 39 - Cruz 12, K. Alas 11, Cortes 6, Racal 3, Almazan 3, J. Alas 2, Almario 2, Belorio 0, Lituania 0, Gabawan 0, Luib 0, Cudal 0. Quarter scoring: 18-10, 34-17, 45-25, 67-39