PCCL: UST forges duel with FEU after dominating Letran

The defending PCCL champs are looking to do just that, defend their title.

A year after they barged into the final group by coming out of the Luzon-Metro Manila bracket, prior to winning it all, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers are now a win away from returning to the PCCL Final Four, overpowering the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 77-60, Monday at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.

They can punch their ticket back into the group of champions if they win against the FEU Tamaraws, who themselves overcame the NU Bulldogs earlier today, 88-70.

UST and Letran got stepladder berths as a result of finishing as the runners-up in their collegiate leagues. The Growling Tigers lost in three games to DLSU in the UAAP, while the Knights placed second after SBC pulled off a four-peat.

These two Dominican schools actually faced off last November in a charity game for Super Typhoon Yolanda relief, with Letran winning that game, 80-79.

In this match though, the Knights exploded out of the gates with an 11-2 run over their foes, but the Growling Tigers soon found their footing, surprisingly, with Karim Abdul getting his first rest. With the Cameroonian on the bench, Kim Lo buried a triple, and then Clark Bautista swiped a pass and took it all the way, as UST got within five, 20-15, 1:41 left.

Mark Cruz found Jonathan Belorio for a deuce, 22-15, and when the buzzer sounded at the end of the first period, Letran’s lead was eight, 24-16.

UST continued to wax hot, as the Lo-Bautista pair helped build an 11-2 run, which finally saw them take the lead on an incomplete and-one play by Karim Abdul, 27-26, 4:56 on the clock. Kevin Racal triples kept Letran slightly ahead, 32-30, but Santo Tomas stole the lead entering the break, thanks to Ed Daquioag and a split by Abdul, 33-32.

In the third, John Sheriff had UST's first six markers, part of an 11-3 run, 44-35, halfway through the period. A Jonathan Belorio triple brought the Knights close anew, 44-40, but they were held to two points the rest of the way, as a Clark Bautista triple helped restore the Tigers' double-digit lead, 52-42, a quarter left.

At the start of the final canto, Mark Cruz and Jamil Gabawan sandwiched another trey from Bautista, 55-46, but that was the last time their deficit would be in single digits. Twin triples from Bautista and Ferrer, plus hits from Ed Daquioag and Karim Abdul made it 10 unanswered points, 65-46, 6:46 remaining. Cruz and Ford Ruaya scattered three markers, but two more volleys from Ferrer and Bautista closed this one out.

Bautista & Ferrer outscored Letran 31-28 in the 2nd Half. #PCCL

— Pong Ducanes (@ompongski) December 2, 2013

UST @clarkbautista9 23Pts 7/13 2-Pts 6Asts @Kevferrer 13Pts 5Rebs 2Blks K. Abdul 11Pts 17Rebs K. Lo 11Pts 5Rebs #PCCL

— Pong Ducanes (@ompongski) December 2, 2013

Letran M. Cruz 18 Pts 7/14 FG's 7 Rebs 4 Asts R. Publico 10 Pts 4/8 FGs K. Racal 9 Pts 6 Rebs 6 Asts J. Gabawan 9 Pts 8 Rebs #PCCL

— Pong Ducanes (@ompongski) December 2, 2013

The duo of Clark Bautista and Kevin Ferrer took charge in the second half, out-scoring their opponents 31-28, with all of Ferrer's points coming after the break. Bautista finished with 23 points, making 7-of-13 from long-range, and six assists, while Ferrer tallied 13 markers, five boards and two blocks.

Center Karim Abdul compiled a double-double of 11 points and 17 rebounds, while Kim Lo chimed in with 11 points as well, as UST played sans Jeric Teng, now in the PBA, and Aljon Mariano, who was recovering from offseason surgery.

Letran was led by Mark Cruz's 18 points, which came on 50 percent shooting from the field. The diminutive floor general also had seven boards, four assists and a steal. Rey Publico added 10 markers, while Kevin Racal and Jamil Gabawan each scored nine.

The Knights sorely missed the interior presence of center Raymond Almazan, now Teng's teammate in the PBA, as their defense was forced to collapse on the Tigers' big men, leaving their gunners open for shots. Overall, UST was 13-of-29 on three-pointers, while Letran was just 7-of-27.

UST also got out and ran, with a 12-4 edge in fast break points. Letran also did themselves no favors with a 23-14 difference in turnovers.

UST and FEU will clash on Tuesday, for the right to complete the Final Four cast along with the SWU Cobras, DLSU Green Archers and SBC Red Lions, on Tuesday, also at Ynares. - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

UST (77) - Bautista 23, Ferrer 13, Abdul 11, Lo 11, Daquioag 7, Sheriff 6, Pe 6, Faundo 0, Hainga 0

CSJL (60) - Cruz 18, Publico 10, Racal 9, Gabawan 9, Belorio 5, Ruaya 5, Buenaflor 2, Luib 2, Tambeling 0, Po 0, Castro 0

Quarter scoring: 16-24, 33-32, 52-42, 77-60