After a shaky start to its three-peat drive, Colegio de San Juan de Letran has now ascended to solo second spot in the NCAA Season 98 all thanks to Fran Yu, whose quickness and leadership brought the Knights back on track.
Letran absorbed three tough losses against Arellano University, surprise contender Lyceum of the Philippines University, and rival San Beda University as the Muralla-based squad closed out the first round with a 6-3 win-loss card.
But the 5-foot-10 Yu made sure that the Knights got their groove back in the second round, where they have yet to drop a single game.
In his last three outings, the Tondo-born playmaker averaged a well-rounded 12.67 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game as the Knights pulled off wins over University of Perpetual Help, Arellano, and San Sebastian College.
His best game so far was against the Stags, where Yu detonated for 19 points, all in the second half, to go along with five boards, two swats, and one dime as they cruised to their sixth win in a row.
His impressive numbers were more than enough to get the nod from the Collegiate Press Corps as the NCAA Player of the Week presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and San Miguel Corporation.
Yu bested his Letran backcourt tandem in Brent Paraiso, Perpetual's John Abis, and CBS's Will Gozum and Miggy Corteza for the weekly honor decided and deliberated upon by print and online media regularly covering the league and also supported by minor sponsors MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey.
"As a player 'di naman ako individual player, kaya nga team kami, hindi ko hinahangad 'yung mga ganong award (MVP)– blessings na lang 'yon. Amin talaga as a team is makuha 'yung three-peat," he said.
Yu, who became the first Knight to emerge as Player of the Week this season, was also praised by head coach Bonnie Tan.
"Fran Yu kasi talagang point guard [and] facilitator. So nakita niyo naman second half nahirapan umi-score 'yung team, so dun siya nag-deliver," said the Letran coach.