LETRAN SQUIRES SWEEP ARELLANO TO RECLAIM NCAA JUNIORS TITLE
By: Miguel Caramoan
STRONG GROUP-backed Colegio de San Juan de Letran completed a dramatic championship run after edging Arellano University, 91–88, in overtime to sweep the NCAA Season 101 Juniors Basketball Finals on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Squires sealed the series 2–0 to reclaim the juniors crown, their third title in the last four years and 15th overall in the division.
Letran forced overtime with a late surge in regulation. Trailing 69–73 with 12.1 seconds left, Mico Pascual knocked down a jumper to cut the deficit to two. After Aaron Manansala split his free throws, Alvin Villanueva drilled a corner three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to send the game to extra time.
In overtime, Nathan Egea took control, scoring all 10 of his points in the five-minute period to lift the Squires to the title.
Justin Cargo was named Finals Most Valuable Player after posting 17 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Villanueva added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Mico Pascual and Travis Pascual finished with 12 points apiece.
Letran head coach Andrew Estrella credited his team’s preparation and resilience for the championship.
“One hell of a ride. A lot of challenges, adversities, and off-the-court challenges, so hard work,” Estrella said. “It’s all hard work, commend to them. Coming to a team with only two months’ preparation, I thought the time would be a problem. Pero latter part of the season, nakita ko na isa na kami and that’s why we got the championship.”
Estrella also emphasized trust in the system despite limited preparation time. “Recruiting them, I just said that you have a purpose kung bakit kita kinukuha dito. When we recruit kasi, hindi lang iisa lang yung dahilan bakit kita kinukuha. So I just said na trust the system, and we’ll get there unti-unti. Marami kaming shortened na ginawa pero it worked.”
The Squires had earlier taken Game 1 of the best-of-three series, 85–79, to set the stage for their title-clinching win.
