NCAA: Letran to turn to Brent Paraiso, other veteran guards with Fran Yu out

Letran Knights in Game 2 of the NCAA men’s basketball finals. –NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Letran will have to rely on its three rotational guards to fill Fran Yu’s shoes in Game 3 of the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball Finals on Sunday at Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The defending champions will have to make do without their team captain due to a one-game suspension that essentially put a period to his collegiate stint with the Knights.

Yu was thrown out of Sunday’s game due to an elbow he threw at College of St. Benilde’s Mark Sangco in the second quarter of the game.

Without their star point guard, the Knights will turn to their playmakers Brent Paraiso, Kurt Reyson and another graduating player Tommy Olivario.

Paraiso, who coach Bonnie Tan referred to as their “closer,” is the third leading scorer of the squad with 10.5 points per outing. He is also shooting 34.8 percent from the field.

Reyson, on the other hand, will have to take the lion’s share of playmaking as the second best passer on the team, averaging 2.6 assists per game.

Olivario, who is playing his final NCAA year, is shooting more efficiently despite having played less minutes than other players. He is posting norms of 43.2 percent from the field overall.

The Knights will also have reinforcements in the form of Kobe Monje and Kyle Tolentino.

Both players were suspended in game two of the Finals. Monje was thrown out of the first game due to an elbow at Macoy Marcos while Tolentino hounded the landing spot of a Migs Oczon triple prompting the league to bar him for the second game.

Still, the Knights will be ready to compete even with a depleted lineup, according to assistant coach Jaren Jarencio.

“We already adjusted. We had a meeting yesterday regarding our rotations. We talked about who will replace Fran, who will step up for him in the lineup,” he said in a PSA forum on Tuesday.

The Knights lead the season series against the Blazers, tallying three wins while only losing once against them last week.

Both squads will face off for all the marbles on Sunday in a winner-take-all affair at Ynares, Antipolo.