Red Lions Trounce Knights, Grab Solo Lead

Control the boards and you control Letran.

And that’s exactly what defending champion San Beda College did as the Red Lions roared past the Knights 77-62 yesterday for their sixth straight win and the solo lead in the 87th NCAA Seniors basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

Ranged against the league’s top rebounding squad, the Red Lions emerged with a 27-19 edge on the defensive end and exploited it to hilt, turning it into another lopsided 14-2 margin on fastbreak points.

With the triumph, the Red Lions stretched their winning run to 24 while dealing the Knights their third defeat in seven outings. The Red Lions’ last defeat was to San Sebastian in their 2009 finals clash.

It also marked San Beda’s 11th consecutive victory over Letran since Frankie Lim took over the coaching reins in 2007.

"We just played our usual game and caught Letran on a bad day," said Lim. "And take note that we outrebounded the league’s top rebounding team."

Lim also cited his three big locals–Jake Pascual, Kyle Pascual and David Marcelo–who combined for 21 rebounds, saying this "shows we can survive without foreign players like Sam Ekwe and Sudan Daniel."

Letran coach Louie Alas attributed the loss to the poise and experience of their opponents "which was the big difference just like our setback against San Sebastian. But I know that my boys will learn from this."

Kevin Alas led a minor uprising with back-to-back triples early in the third quarter to trim the gap to 42-55, prompting Lim to sue for time. His wards responded with a 12-7 tear capped by Anjo Caram’s back-to-back hits to pad the lead anew to 66-49.

"Alas is Letran’s take-charge guy and you expect him to do that," Lim noted of the Knights’ top gun who led the losers with 20 points, 12 of them from three-point range.

Apparently upset the game was getting away from them, Letran’s Andrei Mendoza and Franz Dysam committed flagrant fouls and were thrown out late in the final period.