Letran College and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta will be on their toes when they face off in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball semifinal best-of-three series beginning Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Knights head coach Allen Ricardo swears that the Altas are livewire opponents and careful planning is badly needed for the Knights to get the job done.
Letran booked a spot in the Final Four after beating Arellano University, 77-69, last Friday and overcame a twice-to-win disadvantage.
“We have to know what they’re doing and we have to know their personnel and who they’ll go to at the end of the day. They have Patrick Sleat and (Mark) Gojo Cruz, who are the heart and soul of that team and we need to limit those two to have a good chance of closing the game and winning the series,” said Ricardo, who drew 22 points from Jimboy Estrada in their conquest of the Chiefs.
“We’re here in the semifinals so we have to do what it takes to move on to the championship. We’ll take it one game at a time and we’ll study Perpetual.”
As for Altas head coach Olsen Racela, the former Ateneo de manila standout insists that he will lean on his boys’ ability to execute their game plan.
Perpetual, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, finished off Jose Rizal University, 81-74 last Wednesday to advance to the semifinals with Gojo Cruz leading the way with 23 points.
Ivan Suing
“I appreciate their willingness to execute. They’re open to what I say but they’re young and will make mistakes,” Racela said.
“They are eager to execute what we want and that is what we appreciate.”
The only time the two squads met, the Knights scored a 63-56 victory.