Dolphins, Knights gun for finals berths today

Philippine Christian University and Letran College, two teams which have dominated the league the last two seasons, gun for berths in the finals as the two take on Mapua and San Sebastian, respectively, in today’s Final Four of the 81st NCAA basketball tournament at the Astrodome.

The Dolphins, the defending champions, face the Cardinals at 4 p.m. while the Knights, the 2003 winners, tackle the Stags at 2 p.m. hoping for a win that would set up a best-of-three title showdown.

Letran and PCU, which topped the elimination round with 13-1 and 10-4 (win-loss) slates, respectively, swept their semifinal rivals with the Knights beating the Stags twice, 68-75, on July 4 and, 60-46, on Aug. 31 and the Dolphins thumping the Cardinals in a 57-49 win on July 15 and a 66-57 decision also on Aug. 31.

But both coaches Louie Alas of Letran and Junel Baculi of PCU agree that the level of play would be different in the Final Four.

"I have been in the Final Four, and I know it’s a different ballgame playing there so I told my players to throw in everything they’ve got and play hard," said Alas, who is seeking a third title as coach of the Muralla-based school.

"Iba sa semifinals with so much pressure on the teams," Baculi, who is on his rookie season in the collegiate leagues but has won six titles in the PBL, for his part, said.

The prolific duo of Leo Najorda, and Red Vicente poses a big problem for Alas while Kelvin dela Pena, who played ball in Calgary in Alberta, Canada, is one player Baculi has to contend with.

"You have to stop their outside shooting, they’ll hit you with triples when you least expected it," said Baculi. "It means stopping Dela Pena and limiting his production because he’s the heart and soul of the team.