The long wait is finally over! The scheduled clash last Wednesday was moved today at 4pm (due to bad weather). It has been twenty something years ago when the Letran Knights and the San Beda Red Lions clash for championship. Of course, the Knights emerge as the victors.
Will the Knights continue it’s winning streak to 7-0 today? Or will the hungry Lions eat the valiant Knights. Stay stucked to my blog for the latest updates.
Owing to severe bad weather and heavy rains (most of the streets are flooded due to clogged drainages), classes in all levels within the Metro Manila are still suspended today.
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200607241602.htm
By Nelson Beltran
The Philippine Star 07/24/2006
Far Eastern U’s Arwind Santos is going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 PBA Rookie Draft.
Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua has made known their choice this early, saying it’s “no-brainer” considering the 6-foot-6 forward is easily the best player in the draft pool.
“He easily stands out among the draft hopefuls. He’s the best choice,” said Chua of Santos, the biggest name in the list of 54 players who made themselves available for the 2006 PBA draft set Aug. 20 in Market! Market! in Taguig.
“He’ll easily fit with the team since we badly need a big man to shore up our frontcourt,” Chua also said.
What the Realtors are still giving a thorough study on is their choice at No. 6 overall. They acquired the rights for this pick in a previous trade deal with Barangay Ginebra.
Among the other big names in the list are LA Tenorio, Joseph Yeo, Gabby Espinas, Mark Isip, Boyet Bautista, Aaron Aban and Mark Andaya. Fil-Ams Rob Reyes, Joe DeVance and Kelly Williams applied for the draft but it’s doubtful whether they can complete the necessary documents to be eligible for draft day.
Other notable hopefuls are Jay Sagad, Junjun Cabatu, Magnum Membrere, Christian Luanzon, RJ Rizada, Robert Sanz, John Paul Alcaraz, Jonathan Aldave, Frederick Feliciano, Jerome Paterno, Erwin Sta. Maria, Mark Magsumbol, Chico Lanete, Al Vergara, Dennis Daa, JayR Reyes, Donald Dulay and Ronjay Enrile.
Completing the partial list are Glenn Perseveranda of Solano College, Orvie Vidad of Newvic College, Ralph Ibanes, Oliver Gavino and Abraham Santos of UP, Ariel de Castro and Alfie Grijaldo of NU, Ryan Cristobal, Ronnie Bughao and Paul Reguera of San Beda, Philip Butel and Ollan Omiping of UE, Chris Pacana of St. Francis, Richard Alonzo of Adamson, Denver Roque and Nicole Marasigan of San Sebastian, Nilo Sta. Cruz of Letran, Manuel Caceres of PSBA, Bob Ilanga of University of Mindanao, Erian Daja of WNC, Marlon Kalaw of MLQU, Alexander Sibug of Dominican College, Christian Arellano of College of Dupage and Christopher Apaitan of MSU.
Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino, Kenneth Duremdes, Paolo Mendoza, Alex Cabagnot and Cesar Catli are among key players with a live contract at Sta. Lucia.
The Sta. Lucia coaching staff is likely to infuse new blood into the team following a poor showing in the 2005-06 PBA campaign. The Realtors failed to make it past the wildcard phase in both the Fiesta and Philippine Cups.
With almost half of the Sta. Lucia lineup now without an existing contract, the team may well skip the Sultan Cup Invitational tourney in Brunei where it is scheduled to compete together with the PBA-backed national training pool next month.
While Sta. Lucia owns the first pick, Air21 has the rights for the second and fourth picks and San Miguel the third and fifth picks.
All-Filipino champion Purefoods will pick at No. 9 and coach Ryan Gregorio said they will opt for a big man.
Due to bad weather, classes in all levels as well as office in the government are suspended today in Metro Manila. Also, the president will address the nation at her SONA today (lies to be told).
Here are some of the news clippings:
Letran prevail over Mapua
http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT2006072269878.html
By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
DEFENDING CHAMPION Letran College survived a third quarter scare and banked on the late heroics of Andro Quinday yesterday as the Knights turned back the Mapua Cardinals, 74-71, to remain undefeated in the NCAA basketball tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The 6-foot-2 Quinday unloaded four of his six charities in the final two minutes to keep the Knights afloat en route to a sixth straight win that moved the Muralla-based squad to within a win of sweeping the first round of eliminations.
Mapua, which got sterling performances from veterans Raymund Tiongo, Jerby Del Rosario and Kelvin Dela Peña, absorbed its third loss in six games.
Trailing, 68-71, after a Del Rosario jumper barely three minutes left, the Knights saw Quinday team up with Hafer Mondragon for a 6-0 blast and put Letran on top again, 74-71.
Their effort more than made up for the Knights meltdown in the third period that saw them lose a 46-31 halftime lead in the face of a big onslaught by the cardinals.
“We were complacent and passive in the third quarter and allowed Mapua to execute their plays. Naging kuntento kami sa fact that we’re leading but the boys didn’t know na kaya kaming ungusan ng Mapua,” said winning coach Louie Alas.
Their fourth quarter recovery gave Alas a gauge on how his bots will perform against San Beda on Wednesday.
“This game tested our mental character. We survived the acid test, but it is not yet finished because we still have San Beda to battle,” Alas said.
The Knights went scoreless for a long spell in the third period while Gonzales, Tiongco and Sean Co combined for a 13 Mapua points explosion that pushed the cardinals to within 44-46.
It took a basket by Rey Dangcal with 5:11 left in the period to awaken the Knights from their deep slumber.
In the other seniors game, Philippine Christian University tripped College of St. Benilde, 66-61, to ends its firts round assignments with a 5-2 slate.
The Dolphins drew big numbers from twin towers Gabby Espinas and Ian Garrido with Espinas exploding for 15 points while hauling down 14 rebounds and Garrido coming through with 12 markers and five boards.
The loss was the sixth for the Blazers in seven outings.
“At least nakapagpondo na kami sa first round. Pero malayo pa ang itatakbo namin para makasabay sa mga laro ng leaders ngayon,” Dualan said.
“Hopefully makuha na naming ‘yung kind of game namin sa second round. Every game will count and we will not waste any time.”
In the lone juniors match, the Baby Dolphins made it a double for PCU with a 73-62 decision over the St. Benilde-La Salle Greenies.
The Baby Dolphins now have a 4-2 slate while the Greenies dropped to 2-4.
Knights clip Cards for 6th win
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200607221603.htm
By Joey Villar
The Philippine Star 07/22/2006
Letran blew a 20-point lead in the first half but held Mapua scoreless in the last three minutes of play as the defending champions hacked out a 74-71 victory over the Cardinals yesterday to remain unbeaten with six victories in the 82nd NCAA basketball tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Boyet Bautista came away with 19 points in another fiery stint he highlighted with five triples while Aaron Aban tossed in 17 points for the Knights, who moved within a victory from sweeping the first round elims.
Kelvin dela Peña, noted for hitting buzzer-beating shots in the PBL, couldn’t make one this time as he muffed a potential game-tying trey at the buzzer.
“We made the necessary stops, that’s one of the keys,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, who steered the Muralla-based school’s title romps in 1998, 2003 and 2005.
The win also gave Letran the momentum and confidence it needs when it plays second-running San Beda, the other streaking squad on a four-game run and a 5-1 record, on Wednesday in what many believe would be a preview of this year’s championship.
“It would be a tough match because San Beda is the best defensive team in the league right now,” said Alas.
Employing a combination of sleek running game and pesky full-court defense, the Knights controlled the tempo early and built leads of as many as 20, 41-21, in the second quarter.
But Letran came out of the half a disorganized lot, falling into a maze of errors and poor shot selections, enabling Mapua to strike back before eventually seizing the lead at 71-68 lead behind dela Peña and Jerby del Rosario.
However, the Knights clamped down on defense while Andro Quinday stepped up and nailed four foul shots in a 6-0 windup that sealed the victory for Letran.
Mapua fell to 3-3.
Non-Starters Help Knights Finish Off Cardinals
http://www.ubelt.com/ub/ncaa/mbb/story.aspx?id=1123
Colegio de San Juan de Letran is Boyet Bautista, and then some.
This time it was the reserves who stood out as the Knights held back pesky Mapua Institute of Technology, 74-71, on July 21 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to keep their slate clean in six tries this NCAA seniors’ basketball season.
Bautista found Hafer Mondragon wide open for a gimme 1:21 in the game to get back the advantage, 72-71, after leading by 20 in the second quarter while Andro Quinday sank insurance freethrows to seal the contest.
“This will be a big test for us going into the San Beda game,” recalled Letran coach Louie Alas reminding his wards.
The diminutive point guard was at the helm with 19 points, shooting 5/10 from beyond the arc, while also garnering three assists and three steals. Aaron Aban had 17 markers and ten rebounds. Fiel Daa was the other double digit scorer for Letran with ten.
Raymund Tiongco spearheaded Mapua with 19 points while Jerby del Rosario and Kelvin dela Peña scored 13 and 10, respectively. Joferson Gonzales also had ten boards and five assists.
The contest began the way it ended, nip and tuck. Both squads exchanged baskets with the score at a deadlock at the first timeout, 9-9, 5:48.
However, Letran started to breakaway in the second quarter with an 18-3 run initiated by their pressing defense and to give their highest lead, 41-21, 4:04. The only Mapua basket in that span was a Gonzales three-pointer at the five-minute mark.
Alas pointed out that they became complacent in the third quarter, letting Mapua catch up and turn it into a game. “Nasatisfy na lang kami makatawid (at the midcourt),” the champion coach said. “Hindi na kami nagc-create.”
The Knights suffered a spate of follies, holding themselves scoreless for the first five minutes and letting Mapua go near by two with a Sean Co layup. Ian Mazo’s freethrows tied the count at 48-all while a dela Peña three-point shot gave them a momentary lead, 51-50, 1:17 in the third.
Tiongco gave MIT a four-point bubble with a lay in, 69-65, 4:07 left in the game.
Nevertheless, the defending champions slowly crawled back starting with a Bautista three at the corner, the assist courtesy of Aban. After Gonzales and del Rosario ran a pick play to perfection to respond, it was their last basket of the game.
Quinday’s freethrows trimmed it down to a solitary point 1:48. This was followed by Mondragon’s incursion after Bautista found him wide open underneath the rim. Quinday then made two charities on separate trips to seal the outcome.
In between the two trips, dela Peña missed a shot from the outside after getting two screens from his teammates while Tiongco missed his own attempt in the next possession. Del Rosario almost got the offensive board but he could not keep control of the leather as the loose ball went to Letran’s way.
Dela Peña had a chance to send the game into overtime but his three-point shot in front of his team’s bench fell short.
“San Beda ang best defensive team,” Alas mused. “[They are] a cut above the rest.” He mentioned that the Red Lions lead at almost every statistical department, most especially rebounds.
The Knights’ biggest headache would be Sam Ekwe. “Si Ekwe iyong Bill Russell [type of player],” Alas mentioned. “Nagd-dominate without scoring.”
“It will be a low-scoring game,” Alas predicted.
Will CSJL win its sixth straight later with the match against the Mapua Cardinals at 4pm?
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Big names in PBL, college hoops among hopefuls
From http://www.pba.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1089&Itemid=59
For Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua, hearing the names of players who made themselves available for the coming PBA Draft was certainly sweet music to his ears.
His problem now is that he has to study each rookie hopeful thoroughly and carefully to come up with an intelligent choice for the top pick in the 2006 PBA Annual Draft set August 20 at the Market! Market! in Taguig.
With the best and the finest of the PBL and the country’s premier collegiate leagues beating Friday’s deadline for application, the initial draft roster offers Sta. Lucia a deep pool to choose from.
RP team aspirant pool members Arwind Santos, Joseph Yeo and LA Tenorio banner the list that include prized Fil-Am players Joe Devance, Rob Reyes and Kelly Williams, and collegiate standouts Boyet Bautista, Gabby Espinas, Mark Isip and Junjun Cabatu.
From this list may well come the No. 1 pick.
A total of 56 players beat the deadline for draft application. The list, however, is likely to be pruned down after a thorough scrutiny by the league of the papers of the applicants.
Other named players in the roster are NCAA MVP winner Jay Sagad and PBL and collegiate standouts Magnum Membrere, Christian Luanzon, RJ Rizada, Robert Sanz, Mark Andaya, John Paul Alcaraz, Jonathan Aldave, Aaron Aban, Frederick Feliciano, Jerome Paterno, Erwin Sta. Maria, Mark Magsumbol, Chico Lanete, Al Vergara, Dennis Daa, Jay-R Reyes, Donald Dulay and Ronjay Enrile.
Completing the list are Glenn Perseveranda of Solano College, Orvie Vidad of Newvic College, Ralph Ibanes, Oliver Gavino and Abraham Santos of UP, Ariel de Castro and Alfie Grijaldo of NU, Ryan Cristobal, Ronnie Bughao and Paul Reguera of San Beda, Philp Butel and Ollan Omiping of UE, Chris Pacana of St. Francis, Richard Alonzo of Adamson, Denver Roque and Nicole Marasigan of San Sebastian, Nilo Sta. Cruz of Letran, Manuel Caceres of PSBA, Bob Ilanga of University of Mindanao, Erian Daja of WNC, Marlon Kalaw of MLQU, Alexander Sibug of Dominican College, Christian Arellano of Cooolege of Dupage and Christopher Apaitan of MSU.
At this point, Chua said there’s no consensus favorite yet to be the top pick.
Chua, however, noted there’s a bumper crop of PBA hopefuls this year with Santos, DeVance, Williams, Tenorio and Yeo the premium players in their respective positions.
Cabatu, Enrile and Reyes are likely to be struck out of the list as they could be the three amateur players Welcoat Paints will automatically elevate to the pro ranks upon its PBA entry this coming season.
Fil-Ams Williams, DeVance and Reyes are likewise not that certain to be included in the final list of draftees as they have yet to complete their documentary requirements. They have been given until the end of the month do to so.
While Sta. Lucia owns the first pick, Air21 has the rights for the second and fourth picks and San Miguel the third and fifth picks.
Anthony Washington was Air21’s top pick last year who was traded to Talk n Text. The 6-foot-7 Fil-Am behemoth didn’t see much action though due to injuries.
Curiously, the season’s Rookie of the Year honors went to Red Bull’s second round pick Larry Fonacier. (NC)
