Knights catch Lions at helm anew

Letran shackled Jose Rizal with a full-court press in the second half to fashion out a runaway 70-55 victory yesterday for a share of the lead with San Beda in the 82nd NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Four Knights’ churned out double-digit scores with Boyet Bautista and Aaron Aban leading the charge with 16 and 14 points, respectively. But it was Letran’s pesky trapping defense that anchored their breakaway in the final half en route to catching the Red Lions at the helm again with their ninth win in 10 games.

"We’ve realized after the first round that defense will decide which team will win this season, that’s why we’re trying to improve on our defense," said Letran coach Louie Alas, who steered the school to the championship in 1998, 2003 and last year, in Filipino.

The Knights actually came out a bit sluggish, trailing the Bombers, 12-21, after the first quarter but picked up their bearing in the second to outscore their rivals, 20-5, and seize a 32-26 lead at the break.

Jose Rizal, which pushed Letran to the limit in a 70-74 setback in the first round, never recovered from that big blitz by the Knights, who ripped the game wide open behind Bautista and Aban and a stifling defense that broke several JRU offensives.

Bautista and Aban each scored five points in a 21-4 onslaught to turn that slim halftime advantage to its biggest lead of the game, 53-30, late in the third period.

The Bombers drew 13 and 10 points from John Wilson and James Sena, but top gun Floyd Dedicatoria struggled all game under Letran’s hard-nosed defense as they virtually bowed out of the Final Four race with their eighth loss against two triumphs.

In the other game, University of Perpetual Help kept its semifinal bid alive by repulsing Mapua Tech 58-53.

The Altas thus bounced back from a four-game losing streak to card a 3-7 slate while the Cardinals fell to a 5-5.