And then there were two.
After 10 competitive game days, only University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Colegio de San Juan de Letran remain standing and the two schools will battle with the stakes higher than ever come Saturday in Game 1 of the NCAA Season 99 juniors basketball finals.
Tip-off is at 9:30 a.m. at the FilOil EcoOil Centre with the Squires looking to cement their legacy while the Junior Altas will attempt to rewrite history as the two squads meet in the championship round for the first time in history.
Number 1 seed Perpetual is the favorite, having ended the elimination round almost unscathed with an 8-1 record. In the Final Four, the Junior Altas avenged their lone loss in the tournament as they defeated Mapua University, 96-91.
The wards of rookie coach Joph Cleopas are being led by MVP frontrunner and graduating forward Amiel Acido as well as the backcourt tandem of Mark Gojo Cruz and Jan Pagulayan, all of whom are among the top 10 scorers in the league.
Perpetual, which is making its first-ever finals appearance since joining the league in 1984, also has no shortage of manpower support with rising big man Lebron Jhames Daep asserting his dominance in the paint after emerging second in the league in blocks with 1.33 denials a game.
Then they have another big man in Aries Borja and other supporting cast in Icee Callangan, Xedric Diaz, Regie Ayon, and their semifinals hero Jan Roluna.
Despite all the firepower on the Junior Altas side, the defending champion Squires cannot be counted out.
Still led by champion coach Allen Ricardo, Letran remains formidable despite the exit of former star guard Andy Gemao and Emman Anabo.
The 6-foot-5 George Diamante is the gem for Letran, nearly averaging a double-double through the elimination round with 12.44 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.56 assists, 1.22 steals, and 0.56 blocks and is touted to be the best match-up for the 6-foot-3 Acido.
Letran's backcourt is also phenomenal with court general Titing Manalili, who is the second best player in the assists and steals department with 6.56 dimes and 2.22 swipes a game. He is also helped by the hot-shooting Jovel Baliling and reliable guard Daniel Padilla leading the charge.
Ricardo admitted that facing Perpetual would be a tall order, but he welcomes the challenge as they look to deliver yet another title for Letran.
"Actually mabigat ‘yung Perpetual sa offensive rebounding and sa defensive so kailangan namin i-work out ‘yun tsaka ‘yung mga plays namin kailangan madepensahan namin," Ricardo said.
"Kami naman, we need to execute. Hindi kami pwedeng magkanya-kanya. We need to have patience on our offense and then sa depensa namin, kailangan may pangil na kasi championship na so you need to give all out."
[Actually, Perpetual is a heavyweight on offensive rebounding and defensive so we need to work that out and our plays, we need to be able to defend... For us, we need to execute, we can't play selfishly. We need to have patience on our offense and on defense, it needs to have teeth because it's the championship so you have to go all out.]
Cleopas, meanwhile, emphasized on sticking to their system, which has worked wonders for them in the past games as they emerged as the top offensive team.
"We just stick to our system. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, ‘pag nalito kayo, ‘pag napagod kayo, ‘pag ‘di niyo na alam ang gagawin niyo, sumandal lang kayo sa sistema."
[We just stick to our system. I told them, if you guys get confused, or tired, or you don't know what to do, just lean on the system.]
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
