Letran displayed its championship poise to repulse a hard-fighting Perpetual Help 77-75, and book the first seat in the NCAA Season 97 Finals on Sunday, May 8 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Fran Yu finished what Rhenz Abando had started, delivering the last six points for the Knights before holding on to their defense to fend off a last-ditch run from the Altas and keep their title-retention bid alive.
Abando tied his career-high 24 points, spearheading a huge third quarter explosion for the Knights to seize control of the game after trailing by three, 39-36, at the half.
Yu finished 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while Jeo Ambohot scattered a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Letran head coach Bonnie Tan lauded the endgame composure of his wards as they withstood a furious rally from the Altas who came back from eight points down early in the fourth.
“Let’s work on our experience. ‘Yun yung advantage natin, 'yung experience para maging compose sa huli and lumabas naman kahit papano ‘yung winning attitude nila, yung experience nila on how to close out games,” said Tan.
At the forefront of that endgame stand was Yu who kept the Knights’ head above the water with timely hits down the stretch.
With the game tied at 71-all, Yu scored on a layup to give the lead back to the Knights before scoring on an and-1 play to answer a Jielo Razon layup on the other end and keep a three-point advantage with a little over two minutes left.
“That’s Fran Yu naman, kaya siya nasa loob ng court sa mga end game, yun yung specialty niya. Alam naman nila na ‘yung opportunity to shine, to deliver sa ganitong klaseng laro is important to their careers,” he added.
Jeff Egan pulled the Altas to just one but the defending champions turned to its defense the rest of the way.
The game then saw both teams miss crucial shots with Perpetual’s Mark Omega missing both of his free throws that could have given the Altas the lead with 39 seconds left.
On the other end, Brent Paraiso also missed a shot at point-blank range that could have given the Knights a three-point lead. He, however, make up for that miss by collecting the defensive rebound with 8.6 seconds left that led to a Yu free throw that sealed the game.
Jielo Razon paced Perpetual with 21 points and Jeff Egan added 14 markers but were not enough to extend their tournament lives and force a winner-take-all on Wednesday.
The Scores:
LETRAN 77 -- Abando 24, Ambohot 14, Yu 13, Paraiso 7, Sangalang 7, Olivario 5, Javillonar 4, Reyson 2, Mina 1, Caralipio 0, Fajarito 0.
PERPETUAL 75 -- Razon 21, Egan 14, Abis 11, Pagaran 8, Omega 7, Boral 6, Barcuma 4, Cuevas 4, Martel 0, Kawamura 0, Sevilla 0.
Quarters: 20-17, 36-39, 62-55, 77-75.