LETRAN teetered but hung tough when everything was on the line and with Jerrick Balanza captaining his team the way he was expected to, the Knights edged the San Beda Red Lions, 81-79, to capture the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors’ basketball crown before a jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.
Let’s count Balanza’s heroics.
Balanza nailed a triple with one minute and 26 seconds left to give Letran a 79-73 edge, sending half of the 19,876 fans that packed the arena into a frenzy.
But the Red Lions just didn’t roll over and die. They had Evan Nelle who buried back-to-back treys that put San Beda to within 79-81.
And then came the final 5.4 seconds when a jump ball was called. The Red Lions clinched possession and Nelle was in another position for a potential title-clinching triple.
But Balanza was at the right place and at the right time—he blocked Nelle’s shot and Letran went on to beat its archrival in the series, 2-1, preventing the Red Lions a third consecutive crown.
“There is always a reason for everything,” said Coach Bonnie Tan, who is on his first season with the Knights. “The boys deserve this. They worked hard for this.”
“It was tough, but nothing is imposible. Stay positive, that’s what I kept telling the players,” Tan said. “We treated each game as a championship game.”
Balanza poured in 27 points highlighted by that huge three for Knights, who will be bringing the trophy back to Intramuros the same way they did in 2015—also at the Red Lions’ expense.
Bonbon Batiller finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists, Ato Ular added nine points and five rebounds, Most Improved Player Fran Yu chipped in only five points but with a team-high seven assists for the Knights.
Cameroonian Big man Donald Tankoua led the Red Lions with 22 points with seven rebounds, Most Valuable Player Calvin Oftana finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Image credits: Roy Domingo