James Kwekuteye and JB Bahio connived in the payoff period and formed a deadly duo to help lift San Beda over rival Letran, 76-68, in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Friday, Sept. 30, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Though both teams went dismal from the field, Kwekuteye took charge with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Bahio registered 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Red Lions won against the Knights for the first time since November 2019 during Game 2 of the Season 95 Finals series.
"Grabe 'yong Letran. They came out in the first quarter lahat shumu-shoot. But sabi ko nga sa players we have to put more pressure and challenge more," said San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta. "So it's really them picking up pressure and giving effort. Effort talaga sa amin on the defensive side.
"Alam naming kulang sila but sabi ko nga sa team, 'Kahit sino pa yan, limang player ng Letran pa rin yan.' So give respect also to them kasi they really came out with the game plans. Si coach Bonnie , they showed us the zone, medyo na-outbalanced kami. So good game for both teams," added Escueta, who also had his debut win against the Knights as the Lions' head coach.
Bahio and Kwekuteye became San Beda's cornerstone in the last five minutes of their showdown, countering back-to-back triples from Letran's Kurt Reyson to maintain momentum.
The Lions uncorked an 8-3 run capped by Kwekuteye's free throws with 32.7 ticks left, 74-68, which pretty much sealed the deal for San Beda as it shared an identical 3-2 record with Letran.
Peter Alfaro, who finished with 13 points as well, then iced the game with a steal and a breakaway conversion with 12.4 seconds remaining for the win.
Reyson, for his part, paced the Knights with 20 points and seven rebounds while Fran Yu had 17 points.
King Caralipio, who earlier pumped life for Letran with a three-pointer to cut their deficit to two, 70-62, with 2:35 left, was the lone Knight to score efficiently on a 7-of-10 shooting and ended up with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Scores:
SAN BEDA 76 -- Kwekuteye 17, Bahio 16, Alfaro 13, Ynot 7, Visser 6, Cortez 5, Cuntapay 5, Andrada 5, Jopia 2, Cometa 0, Tagala 0.
LETRAN 68 -- Reyson 20, Caralipio 17, Yu 17, Javillonar 8, Monje 4, Olivario 2, Santos 0, Tolentino 0, Guarino 0, Miclat 0.
Quarters: 16-33, 42-43, 57-55, 76-68.