Letran Knights beat 2nd seed SSC Stags to keep NCAA Finals bid alive
Letran stayed alive for a finals bid as the Knights beat second-seed San Sebastian, 70-62, Monday in the Final Four of the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
Jam Cortes had 16 points, Kevin Alas added 15 points and Mark Cruz had eight of his 12 points in the final period as the Knights remained in contention for a finals seat.
The Knights forced a deciding game against the Stags on Wednesday, 2 p.m. with the winner facing the San Beda Red Lions in the finals.
“We only won one game," said Letran coach Louis Alas as the series heads into a rubber match. “For us to be in the finals, we have to beat them twice."
San Sebastian lost its third game in a row and is on the verge of being eliminated despite going undefeated after 15 games.
The Knights took a 10-point lead on a 10-0 run started off by Cortes, Alas and Kevin Racal and capped by a Jonathan Belorio triple to break a 46-all deadlock.
Cruz, the littlest guy in the Letran line-up, played big hitting crucial baskets to keep the Knights’ lead in the ballgame.
“I expected Mark to play well because he played intelligent basketball during our tune-up matches. I knew that he is capable of playing very good in the Final Four," said Alas.
San Sebastian only hit one field goal in the fourth quarter—a Ronald Pascual triple—at the 2:49 mark of the game but Letran already had a sizeable lead at that point.
Calvin Abueva had 19 points and 16 rebounds but spent 21 minutes of game time on the bench because of foul troubles. Ian Sangalang tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 38 minutes while Ronald Pascual had eight points in 37 minutes. - OMG, GMA News,
The scores:
Letran 70—Cortes 16, K. Alas 15, Cruz 12, Racal 9, Almazan 6, J. Alas 4, Belorio 3, Gabriel 2, Dysam 2, Espiritu 1.
San Sebastian 62—Abueva 19, Sangalang 17, Pascual 8, Antipuesto 6, Dela Cruz 4, Del Rio 4, Miranda 2, Maiquez 2, Ferrer 0.
Quarters: 11-12, 28-26, 44-44, 70-62.
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/235677/sports/letran-knights-beat-2nd-seed-ssc-stags-to-keep-ncaa-finals-bid-alive
