FilOil: NU survives feisty Letran Knights, advances to semis

(Updated 6:05pm) The National University Bulldogs unseated the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 69-67, to advance to the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup semifinals, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying V  Arena.

The Knights mounted a 21-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters, but began to unravel towards the end. Alfred Aroga overpowered Letran's stingy defense, scoring seven of the Bulldogs' last nine points to neutralize big shots by Mark Cruz and Rey Nambatac down the stretch, taking the defending FilOil champions one step closer to a second title.

NU also extended their win streak to nine games in this year's tourney. They will face the winner of the DLSU Green Archers-San Beda Red Lions quarterfinal game today.

National U head coach Eric Altamirano expressed relief at winning what was an extremely close game. "For this game we didn't play our best. I felt we were one step slow all the time. But I thought Letran played really well today, they were more relaxed than us," he said.

Altamirano confirmed that this roster would be the same he would field in the upcoming UAAP season. He also added that he would like his team to be mentally tougher, and that the Bulldogs' summer stint in Australia helped towards that goal.

"We were really challenged [there]. We played older and semi-pro teams. We lost all our games but they were really close, including one that went into overtime."

Early in the game, Letran worked to find cutters on the floor. They hit four of their first field goals, including a couple by Ford Ruaya. On the other hand, the Bulldogs missed their first four tries before a couple of transition makes by Denice Villamor and Ray Parks got them going. The Bulldogs then put on a 10-2 run before a Fidel Castro trey knotted the game at 11-apiece.

Mark Cruz and Rey Nambatac chipped in consecutive treys with four and a half minutes to play but were forced to go on a scoreless spell when the Bulldogs' defense clamped down.

The Bulldogs nosed ahead despite Letran's best efforts to clog the paint, 19-17, after Parks converted a couple of charities with under two minutes to play. But the Knights had the final say after Nambatac was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two from the line, and Raymond Almazan spun past Alfred Aroga in the post to finish the quarter with a 22-19 lead.

Both teams rallied back and forth in the second period, and the Knights were better able to take advantage of the pace. Cruz led the attack on a half-composed Bulldogs defense and found Franz Dysam in the corner. Dysam then banked a triple high off the glass for a 34-28 lead that forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout with under six minutes to play.

When National U returned to the floor, Gelo Alolino steadied his team over the next few minutes by providing some much-needed energy. The point guard attacked the basket for eight points in a closing 15-3 blast by the Bulldogs, who blew past Letran to take a 43-37 lead at the half.

The Bulldogs shot 15-of-34 (44 percent) from the field in the first two quarters, compared to Letran's 14-of-33 (42 percent). The Bulldogs led in free throw attempts (10-of-15, compared to Letran's 4-of-6), while Letran had the edge in three-point shooting (5-of-11 against 3-of-10).


Parks and Troy Rosario teamed up for an 8-2 run early in the third quarter, as a cutting move by the latter gave them a 51-39 lead.

However Cruz wouldn't let the Knights fall away. The point guard attacked Parks and scored five as the Knights ran plays to get to the hoop. While the Bulldogs were limited to long-range attempts, Letran blitzed them with a 19-5 surge, capped by an and-one by Castro, to retake a 58-56 lead after three quarters.

Letran put on an impressive stand on defense in the final period, repelling National U's incursions inside. But save for one fast break sequence, the Knights had trouble putting on points on the board as well, for a 62-56 tally. With under six minutes to play, Parks jolted the Bulldogs with a triple, and Aroga crammed a one-hander against Jamil Gabawan to cut the lead to one, 62-61.

The Bulldogs caught a break with under three minutes to play when, after Cruz and Rosario traded shots, the officials called a shot clock violation on a floater by Nambatac. A loose ball foul on Aroga resulted in two charities that put National U ahead, 65-64.

While the Bulldogs were unsuccessful in attacking early in the clock over the next couple possessions, Letran collected themselves and set up Nambatac for a triple over De Guzman, 67-65, with a minute and change remaining. National U then worked the ball around the court, resulting in a drive-and-dish play between JJ Alejandro and Aroga, in addition to drawing Gabawan's fifth foul. Aroga converted from the line, 68-67, with 24 seconds remaining.

Letran, hounded along the perimeter, ended their possession with an airballed triple by Nambatac. Alolino controlled the miss and split from the line with four seconds to play.

The Knights had another chance to force overtime, but Ruaya's long two was swatted as time expired.  

Bobby Ray Parks finished with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists, a steal and two block, in 33 minutes of action. Gelo Alolino added 13 points and a eight of his side's 18 assists, while Troy Rosario came off the bench for 12 markers, six boards and two swats.

Alfred Aroga and Emmanuel Mbe combined for 11 points, nine from the former, and 16 rebounds.

Mark Cruz led the way for Letran with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Rookie Rey Nambatac added 11 markers, six from three-pointers, while Raymond Almazan put together a double-double of 10 markers and 12 boards.

Both teams shot 40 percent from the field, but the Bulldogs had a 24-8 advantage in free throws attempted. Letran compensated somewhat with a 17-10 edge in turnover points, but they fell just short in the end. - AMD, GMA News



The stats:

NU 69 - Parks 16, Alolino 13, Rosario 12, Aroga 9, Villamor 8, Rono 5, De Guzman 3, Mbe 2, Javillonar 1, Alejandro 0

CSJL 67 - Cruz 16, Nambatac 11, Almazan 10, Gabawan 8, Castro 7, Ruaya 6, Luib 5, Dysam 3, Buenaflor 0, Publico 0, Po 0, Pantin 0

Quarter scoring: 19-22, 43-37, 56-58, 69-67