One Day Later: CSJL vs AU, MIT vs CSB

Team play - Kevin Alas and the rest of the Letran Knights easily dispatched the Arellano Chiefs (pic source)

CSJL 75 - AU 59
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Player of the Game : A last-minute addition to the line-up due to a lingering fever, Kevin Alas still managed to impress, dropping 17 points on eight attempts, plus chipping in seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. The efficient shooting performance was what impressed me the most, but he only had two turnovers as well, handling the ball exceptionally well in 36 minutes.


CSJL Positives :

• Jam Cortes dominated the interior as usual, getting 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting, and hauling down nine rebounds. He did commit six turnovers, as the swarming Chiefs defense targeted him from the onset. 
• Letran dominated the rebounding 49-39, 21-15 on the offensive glass, resulting in an 18 to 4 edge in second chance points, as Arellano's zone did them in once again. That said, this was actually a bit of a letdown, with Raymond Almazan getting less than double-digit rebounds.

CSJL Negatives :

• The Knights entered the game norming 18 turnover points, but Arellano was able to hold them to just 14, despite committing 25 errors.

AU Positives :

•  Arellano's zone defense was able to sucker the Knights into taking 19 triple attempts, of which they made just 2 conversions.

AU Negatives :

• The Chiefs were shutdown inside, getting 15 offensive rebounds, but only managing four second chance points.
• Arellano was ridiculously careless with the ball, as Gerald Lapuz, Andrian Celada and Vergel Zulueta all tallied four turnovers. Point guard Rocky Acidre had it worse with five. 
• After getting to within five points, 38-33, early in the third quarter, the Chiefs simply rolled over and died, allowing Letran to double their output from that point on.

Gone for long? Coupled with the overtime loss, an injured Carlo Lastimosa puts the Blazers' future in doubt (pic source)

MIT 94 - CSB 90
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Player of the Game : Allan Mangahas took control of the overtime period, scoring seven and making a key assist to Mark Sarangay to put the game away for good as the Cardinals survived late rallies by the Blazers. Mangahas finished 10 of 24 from the field, and added eight rebounds and six assists to the cause.


MIT Positives :

• After flopping in the fourth quarter numerous times in the first round, the Cardinals stayed steady in this one, catching up to the Blazers through volume shooting by Josan Nimes (14 of his 25 points in the fourth period) and two huge triples by Jason Pascual. Mangahas then followed it up as previously mentioned in the overtime.
• Mapua rode hot shooting all the way to the end, finishing with a 39 of 80 clip, just one made field goal shy of 50 percent shooting.
• Though the Cardinals relied more on their athleticism instead of their height, through whatever manner, they were able to secure the rebounding edge, getting 53 to Benilde's 43.

MIT Negatives :

• Playing against the tiny Blazers, Mapua went ahead and decided to play the opponent's style of ball, going small with four guards and Mark Sarangay late. While they were able to win, I think it's a waste of the talent on their roster, especially in the case of Yousef Taha who is 6'7" and yet, rarely got a chance to post up properly to take advantage of the smaller CSB defenders. 
• For all the fortitude the Cardinals displayed, they still allowed the Blazers to hang around late. Anton Altamirano's steal and pass to Carlo Lastimosa shouldn't have been possible had they taken better control of the ball, and Jonathan Grey's repeated trips to the line in overtime could have been negated had they learned how to just box out their man (or you know, not gone with four guards and a big). 
• Entering the game shooting 63.92 percent from the free throw line, Mapua had it worse in this game, making just 9 of 21 charities for 43 percent. A few more made freebies would have gone a long way to preventing OT.

CSB Positives :

• The Blazers managed to keep pace in a high-scoring game, getting 23 points from Carlo Lastimosa, 21 from Jonathan Grey and 19 from Paolo Taha. In particular, the Cardinals had a difficult time stopping Grey and Taha from getting to the rim, owning to their freakish athleticism.

CSB Negatives :

• After dropping five triples in the first quarter, the guns of CSB fell silent, making just four more triples thereafter. 
• Had Tim McCoy gotten both charities after Rodel Ranises made that foul going for a steal, the game would not have been sent into overtime.
• The ankle injury of Carlo Lastimosa looks extremely serious. If he has to miss a significant amount of games, the Blazers maybe sunk, given how bunched up everyone is in the standings.

NCAA Picking Record: 37-12