One Day Later: CSJL vs CSB, JRU vs MIT

Carlo Lastimosa and the rest of the Blazers came up short versus Letran (pic source)

CSJL 72 - CSB 60
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Player of the Game : The small but deadly rookie Mark Cruz nailed two big triples to help the Knights stay ahead, finishing with 11 points, (2/2 from beyond the arc, 3/4 from the field, 4/4 from the line) four rebounds, an assist and a steal to no turnovers. He's a great change of pace point guard from the more conservative Franz Dysam, and despite his lack of size, does not back down at all to those he guards.

By the Numbers :

• Scoring five points in just a quarter in an embarrassment...but then again, CSB did get to within two points, twice. And when it was all said and done, Letran won by "just" 12 points, one more than the difference in the first quarter (16 to 5). 
• As expected, Letran dominated the boards, 54 to 33, 17 to 11 on the offensive glass, leading to a whopping 10 to 2 score in second-chance points for the Knights.
• CSB managed to lead in two of the hustle point stats, 19 to 12 in fastbreak points, including 13 in the third quarter, and 13 to 4 on turnover points, after making eight less mistakes than Letran's 18. 
• Benilde came from back to back games in which they shot better than 80 percent from the field, and were norming 65 percent from the line entering this game. Unfortunately, they were just 22 of 39 in this match, or 56 percent. 

The Other Names :

• The expected shoot-out between Kevin Alas and Carlo Lastimosa was a bit of a dud, unless you're a fan of misses. Alas led Letran with 16 points, but he was 5 for 13 from the field, 6 of 16 from the line in 35 minutes. Lastimosa on the other hand was the opposite of his efficient game versus San Beda, going 4 of 14 to finish with 11 points in 23 minutes, splitting his six free throws. Alas also finished with five turnovers, while Lastimosa made just two errors.
• Jam Cortes dominated inside with 12 points and 14 rebounds, but had five turnovers. 
• I understand that shooters have to shoot themselves out of slumps, but Jan Tan's inability to can medium-range jumpers hurt his team's momentum numerous times as the guards kept driving and dishing to him at the elbow. Tan finished 1 for 11 from the field for four points in 32 minutes. Had that been Mark Romero, this game would have been a lot more close. 

One-man team, but the Snake couldn't do it alone in his final game as a Cardinal (pic source)

JRU 78 - MIT 64
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Player of the Game : The Alex Almario of the summer league was a hyper-efficient, pass first floor general, one that has yet to rear its head in the NCAA proper. That said, Almario has been scoring, and he had his best game of the season in this match, finishing with 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field, 7 of 8 from the line. With the defense keying in on guys like Raycon Kabigting and Nate Matute, Almario was often able to score unopposed.

By the Numbers :

• Through a combination of JRU defense, and what seemed like unpreparedness, Mapua found its offense sputtering throughout the game. They scored just 64 points, down from an average of 72 headed into the game. They got their second-worst three-point shooting performance this season (just 14 percent, with their worst being seven percent), and a 51 percent rate at the line, after norming 62 percent in their other 17 games.
• I've long criticized MIT head coach Chito Victolero's inability to manage the playing time of his guys, and this could clearly be seen in this game. While he finally realized that you need to play Allan Mangahas in crunchtime, he then went and gave Josan Nimes just three useless minutes when the game was out of reach, and completely forgot about big man Mark Sarangay. Prior to the fourth quarter, Nimes had scored nine points, while Sarangay was responsible for eight. 
• The Heavy Bombers creamed MIT in several categories, including all the hustle stats, but the most important figure might be assists, where they had a 17 to 8 advantage, a number that says a lot about both teams. 

The Other Names :

• All four of JRU's double-digit scorers came from their backcourt. Aside from Almario, Raycon Kabigting, John Villarias and Nate Matute combined for 37 points on 14 of 28 shooting, with each adding a triple to the mix. 
• Do-it-all Mangahas was the only Cardinal in double-figures, scoring 22 on 10 of 18 shooting. He also had seven boards and two assists in his final collegiate game.
• Big man Ralph Monserat came off the JRU bench and contributed nine points and six rebounds, outplaying his Mapua counterparts.
• Yousef Taha was apparently suspended for this game due to disciplinary reasons by the team. Yes, on the very last game of the season when they had a chance to force a playoff for the fourth seed. That's both very brave, and very stupid.

NCAA Picking Record: 61-21-2