NCAA: Letran thwarts San Sebastian’s sweep bid

CORNERED STAG. Calvin Abueva of San Sebastian College dives for the ball off Kevin Racal and Kevin Alas of Letran. The Knights dealt the Stags their first loss of the 86th season in overtime, 82-81, denying the former champions an outright Finals’ berth following their match at the San Juan Arena on Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. AUGUST DELA CRUZ/INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines – Kevin Alas’ first triple of the night sealed Letran’s stunning 82-81 victory over San Sebastian and thwarted its sweep bid Friday in the 87^th NCAA seniors’ basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

Alas, which missed his first six attempts from beyond-the-arc, pounced on the space given him by the Stags’ Ronald Pascual and unleashed the go-ahead three with 22.9 ticks remaining in overtime.

“I think the reason why Ronald [Pascual] didn’t come near me [when I took it] because I’ve been missing that shot all night,” said Alas, whose sheer explosiveness led him to a 22-point output.

Alas, who also had 10 assists and four steals, scored the Knights’ first four points in overtime and aided VJ Espiritu on a triple which gave them a 69-66 edge with 1:38 in the clock.

“We just kept on fighting,” said long-time Letran coach Louie Alas.

The victory foiled a possible “thrice-to-beat” advantage for San Sebastian in case of a sweep, and assured the league of a Final Four format.

Letran, though, is still a step behind defending champion San Beda in the standings with a 13-3 record, although the twice-to-beat advantage remained in sight with two games left in the eliminations.

The Stags couldn’t secure a decent attempt in the last seconds off the match owing to the Knights’ suffocating defense.

Ronald Pascual, who finished with a game-high 25 points, led San Sebastian in a losing effort including six unanswered points which forged the extra five minutes while Ian Sanggalang and Calvin Abueva added 22 and 16 markers.

Pascual also gave the Stags an 81-79 edge with a minute left in overtime on a five-point swing before Alas’ triple.

San Sebastian, which could still lose its hold of the top spot, actually struggled to wrest control the entire game – losing their third quarter advantage and trailed for most of the payoff period.