Knights edge Falcons; Warriors defuse Heavy Bombers

NCAA titlist Letran was pushed to the limit by UAAP fifth placer Adamson and had to bank on a three-pointer by ace guard Ronjay Enrile in the closing seconds to hack a 74-73 squeaker in the opening game of the UAAP-NCAA Bantay Bata 163 Showdown II at the Blue Eagle gym yesterday.

Outrebounded and outplayed by the taller and heftier Falcons, the Knights resorted to pressing defense to wipe out several double-digit deficits and eventually win the game on Enrile’s decisive trey with time down to three seconds.

With Kenneth Bono’s desperation heave from midcourt overhitting the rim at the buzzer, the Knights sealed the nail-biting win that sent them to the crossover knockout semifinals of the four-day charity tournament.

They play the winner of today’s La Salle-San Sebastian duel in the semis Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.

While the Knights had to lean on Enrile’s endgame heroics, the UE Warriors needed just one quarter to outplay the Jose Rizal Heavy Bombers en route to posting an 84-56 rout in the other contest.

"We played Adamson’s deliberate game in the first half kaya nahirapan kami. Sa second half, we needed to play pressing defense throughout to steal the game," said Letran coach Louie Alas, who incidentally was a former Falcon.

"I’m not surprised that we had a hard time against Adamson. In four tune-up games before the NCAA and UAAP seasons, we beat them only once," added Alas.

The Falcons dominated the Knights nearly the entire run of the contest, leading by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.

Coach Luigi Trillo and his boys were still very much in control at 61-48 when the Knights started to employ the press that suddenly turned things around, pushing Letran ahead at 65-64.

But the Falcons regrouped and regained control at 72-67 on clutch hits by Patrick Cabahug and Ramil Tagupa. — Nelson Beltran