Pros and Cons: San Beda edges Letran to remain undefeated

The San Beda Red Lions did enough to remain undefeated in the NCAA Season 95 Men’s Basketball Tournament. Coach Boyet Fernandez’ troops squeaked past the Colegio San Juan de Letran Knights, 70-66, in their August 10 clash at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. A deep dive into the numbers indicate what the three-time defending champions did well and which areas they need to improve on.

The positives

1) Starters dominated – Strong is an understatement as the starting crew scored 61 points as compared to Letran’s 37. Evan Nelle led the Red Lions with 18 markers while Donald Tankoua had 15. Calvin Oftana and James Canlas Kwekuteye chipped in 11 points apiece while Clint Doliguez made six.

In contrast, Jerrick Balanza is the only Letran starter in double figures with 20. Field goal shooting is not even close as the San Beda starters connected on 48% of their shots (23/38) while their Letran counterparts shot only 34% (13/38).

2) Letran did not breach the 20-point mark – Per quarter scoring shows that the Coach Bonnie Tan’s players made as high as 19 points (third quarter) and as low as 15 (second and fourth quarters). Meanwhile, the Red Lions scored 21 in the opening quarter and 23 in the third. San Beda was able to clamp down on defense by limiting Letran to just 35% shooting overall.

3) Stopping the opponent when it mattered – Letran was threatening to inch closer with 15 seconds left in the game. But the winners turned their defensive intensity up a notch to force Balanza in taking a desperation trey. They found a way to win which kept them at the top of the standings.

The negatives

1) Where’s the bench? – San Beda’s reserves got outplayed, 29-9. Only Peter Alfaro and AC Soberano scored from the Red Lions’ bench and their output (nine points) is less than what Ato Ular made (11). Fran Yu added nine for Letran while King Caralipion, Christian Balagasay, and Edson Batiller combined for the same total.

There may be games when the utilities must salvage the game for the undefeated Red Lions. They are lucky to have survived this match especially with Tankoua fouling out.

2) Poor fourth quarter performance – It’s good that they were able to limit Letran to 15 points in the payoff period. But San Beda scoring only eight points!? That’s a cause for concern. No wonder the Knights were able to sneak closer from a deficit as high as 13 points. The Red Lions should keep on producing points to avoid this scare from happening again.

 3) Letran delivered on second chances – Hustle helped the Knights get back into contention. They pulled 12 offensive rebounds while San Beda only had nine. Letran collected 12 points off those extended possessions while San Beda could only muster two.
(Photo credit: ABS-CBN Sports Facebook page)