SAN Sebastian College warded off pesky Letran, ended a three-game skid and booked its place in the finals of the 87th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
After back-to-back losses to defending champion San Beda and a surprise defeat by third-seed Knights, the Stags finally came up with a huge game on Wednesday.
Denied the last time, the Stags didn’t lose their composure when Letran, behind the barrage of triples from Kevin Alas, mounted a comeback at The Arena in San Juan and held on for a 63-56 clincher and arranged a rematch with the Red Lions.
“We just relied and trusted each other and that was the key,” said San Sebastian’s rookie coach Topex Robinson. “Our last three losses as I told you made us a better team and I’ll take that. With our backs against the wall, we are ready to slug it out.”
Calvin Abueva had another monster game with 20 points and 18 rebounds while Ian Sangalang added 15 and 12. Ronald Pascual chipped in 11 points for the Stags, who will be meeting Red Lions in the finals for the third-straight year.
“Todo na kami dito kaya pinaghandaan talaga ang depensa namin sa kanila,” the 23-year-old Abueva said. “Last game kasi kulang sa focus kaya ngayon, tiyaga na lang talaga.”
The No. 3 Knights forced a knockout match against the No. 2 Stags with a 70-62 win on Monday. They came close to pulling off the upset when Alas hit three straight three-pointers to tie the count at 55-all with 4:31 remaining.
But San Sebastian’s so-called “Big Three” of Abueva, Sangalang and Pascual scored the next six points to create breathing space for the Stags, 61-56.
Game One is set on Monday at the Araneta Coliseum with the Stags looking to avenge their loss last year to the Red Lions.
After Alas split his free throws, Jovit dela Cruz sealed the win with a putback with 10.3 seconds remaining.
Alas led all scorers with 26 points and Mark Cruz added 11, but Jam Cortes, a key factor in the Knights’ win in the previous game, had only eight points on 4-of-12 shooting.
“Gusto namin bumawi sa kanila kaya sa Monday, tiyaga ulit,” said Abueva who was part of the 2009 champion team under coach Ato Agustin.
Meanwhile, La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) entered the finals of the juniors division after beating Letran Squires, 101-91, in the step-ladder Final Four to face San Beda Red Cubs in the finals.
Mario Bonleon hit a three-pointer in the final minute that helped the Greenies preserve the win after the Squires battled back from 19-point deficit.
“Give the credit to the players. They were the ones why we are in the finals,” said rookie coach John Flores. “I’m just in the right place, right time with the right people.”
Thomas Torres led LSGH with 35 points while Bonleon chipped in 21, none bigger than his three-pointer after the Squires trimmed the lead to 91-93 with 1:03 remaining.
The Greenies thus surpassed the 1998 feat of the third-place team that featured Paul Artadi, Mika Vainio and Bruce Quebral.
They now face a gigantic task of beating the Red Cubs three times in the finals to win their first ever crown. San Beda needs to win only twice to capture the title, an incentive given to them for sweeping the elimination round.
In Photo: San Sebastian's Ian Sangalang tries to snatch the ball from Kevin Alas of Letran. (Nonoy Lacza)
