Knights pierce Heavy Bombers in opening day massacre
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DINO Daa proved he’s the Knights’ newest big kid on the block.
Daa registered 20 points and added five rebounds and two steals as the Letran Knights routed the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 83-69, in the opening of the 84th NCAA men’s seniors basketball tournament last June 28, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Showing that there is life down low despite the losses of Shubert Reposar and Bryan Faundo, the 6-foot-5 Daa made his presence felt by converting on 8-of-13 shots from the field to follow the San Beda Red Lions on the win column.
“Coach Louie [Alas] always told me since Shubert and Bryan can no longer play this season that the team now relies on me as the team’s starting big man,� said Daa. “Anyway, I need to sustain this performance because it’s still a long way to go.�
Reymar Gutilban, who scored 14 points, hit the last four points of the opening period for the Knights, earning them a 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kojack Melegrito, RJ Jazul and John Foronda opened the second frame with a bang as Letran broke the game open. The Heavy Bombers, however, kept the game close at the half, 33-26, with JR Sena and Marc Cagoco scoring a couple of key baskets.
But the Knights sealed the game by scoring 50 points in the second half. They took a 75-55 lead – their biggest – after Jazul drilled in a trey with 7:15 left in the final quarter.
“I did not expect the players to come up very energetic today, with no opening day jitters. I hope we can sustain this all throughout the season,� said Knights coach Louie Alas. “I give the credit to Dino [Daa] for playing well.�
Daa proved to be the team’s anchor inside after Faundo (academic ineligibility) and Reposar (personal problems) were omitted from the Letran roster.
Jazul finished with 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc and had seven assists, while Melegrito scored 12 points for the Muralla-based squad, which finished second last season after getting swept by San Beda.
Sena was the only JRU player who scored in double-figures with 19 points. The Bombers missed 20 free throws, which compounded their opening day misery.
Also, the Knights collected 48 rebounds against the 37 of the Heavy Bombers, and registered a whopping 26 assists as opposed to the 15 posted by JRU.
Individual Scores:
Letran 83 – Daa 20, Gutilban 14, Jazul 13, Melegrito 12, Foronda 7, Cabonce 7, Belencion 3, Dangcal 3, Ranises 2, Guevarra 2, Latonio 0, Cortes 0.
JRU 69 – Sena 19, Cagoco 9, Nocom 7, Agas 6, Kabigting 6, Hayes 6, Lopez 6, Bulangis 4, Wilson 4, Apinan 2, Matute 0, Almario 0, Njei 0, Pradas 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-11; 33-26; 57-48; 83-69
Tags: Jose-Rizal-University-Heavy-Bombers, letran_knights, NCAA-Season-84, News, PetronRelated posts
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University_Guy
+0
Thursday, 24 July 2008 at 1:46 am
john lopez frm JRU heavy bombers line up, He is former light bomber and mythical five juniors division in 2005 alongside with allan mangahas and hermida.
lion's_paw
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Monday, 7 July 2008 at 12:00 pm
@ bombers- why don’t you trace kung nsan na yung mga former Red Lions? Most of the former Red Lions have a better job right now, locally and in the US… so bopol ba yun? hehehe
DANTINA NJ USA
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Saturday, 5 July 2008 at 12:19 am
sa mga readers I’m sorry 4 my 2 wrong spelled words. My kids corrected me. Tao lang po & it always happens. Potencials to potentials & loose to lose.T.Y.I admit it, I’m not really good in spelling & maybe with my grammar’s too! HE!HE!HE!
DANTINA NJ USA
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Friday, 4 July 2008 at 11:59 pm
HELLO & THANK YOU to KUYA,the Coach Review,ballbuster 4 giving such a nice comment about John Lopez.I hope he really has a big potencials in basketball.It gives us so much joy & pride as a mom who never seen his kids 4 more than 8 years.I really appreiate it.To my son John Lopez & to JRU Heavy Bombers, GOODLUCK & MORE POWER!!!! GO! GO! GO! Heavy Bombers Win Or Loose ur still no.1!!!
dangerous diaz
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 12:59 pm
pero tigil na natin ito muna @bystander, let’s discuss other things. peace.
dangerous diaz
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 12:57 pm
HAY NAKU! IT ONLY MEANT BEING INACTIVE FOR A YEAR ALREADY MAKES YOU A NON-CONTENDER IS NOT A GOOD GAUGE FOR A TEAM OR SCHOOL TO SEE THEIR CHANCES IN THE COMING SEASON OR WHETHER THEY CAN WIN GAMES OR NOT.
OF COURSE IT CAN’T DO A LA SALLE BECAUSE OTHER FACTORS ATTEST TO PCU’S STRENGTH.
YOUR ORIGINAL POST SAID “…CSB ONLY PLAYED AGAINST PCU…” TO IMPLY PCU WASN’T A THREAT AT ALL FOR THAT ONE GAME AND THAT CSB SUPPORTERS “SHOULD NOT FOOL THEMSELVES OF THAT WIN”.
PCU MAY DEFINITELY NOT WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, IT CAN WIN AT LEAST ONE GAME AND THAT GAME COULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE AGAINST CSB. LIKE I’VE SAID, PCU IS NOT A LIGHTWEIGHT IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL.
bystander
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 12:45 pm
@dangerous diaz: nowhere in your post? Then why did you even think of using la salle as an example? (imho, ang layo naman kasi ng comparison) so your point being….
now i will return the question to you. where in my post did i say that csb was just “lucky” to win? granted that i said csb won over weaker teams, that is not the same as saying that csb was just lucky to win those two games…
even the fact that their first two games were against pcu and perpetual had nothing to do with luck. i wouldn’t even consider it a “lucky” draw. why? because they still had to play…they still had to score more points than these teams to win the game.
all i said was that we can not be fooled into thinking that csb has become a contender just because they won two games and now have a 2-0 record. i ventured to say that the first two teams, being weak (or, to be more politically correct, not among the top seeds this year—baka mga tiga pcu o perpetual naman ang mag-react dyan?) can not be taken as a real test of how strong or weak csb really is this year.
tignan muna natin ano mangyayari sa csb when they play against letran, jru or san beda…kung hindi magkatotoo yung sinabi ko, then we can have something to talk about as far as csb’s strenght is concerned. otherwise, it’s gonna be another one of those “also-ran” years, unfortunately…
you see, in my book, any team has to be Final 4 material before i can consider it strong. whether i may or may not happen to be an alumnus of that school or not. and so far, those two wins by csb are not enough to tell me that they are…
with your last post, i do believe we are saying the same thing but in different ways and coming from different vantage points…you’re basically saying let’s wait until we judge…i’m basically saying let’s wait until csb manages to win a big game against the top seeded teams before we can even be reasonably optimistic…
yes, you are correct in saying that i’m not from csb but i can assure you i have green in me (among other colors)….
i can understand your high hopes. all schools go through that…
cheers amigo!
dangerous diaz
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 11:53 am
@bystander, nowhere in my post that i said pcu can do a la salle. the point i was driving at is that you were too early in your claim about csb just being “lucky” in their wins. wait a couple more games before you speak up about csb’s chances.
about you being biased? well one thing for sure you are not from csb. i don’t have to know which school you’re from.
no i did not see the game nor i have any knowledge of the stats. but what i know is that csb kinda performed well in the preseason in comparison to the previous years. so it’s best to assume that csb MAY do well in the ncaa this season. i don’t think you share that idea.
bystander
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 11:20 am
@dangerous diaz, well, if you sincerely believe that pcu is capable of doing what la salle did in the uaap last year, then fine by me…
and if you think csb’s first two games is a true measure of its worth this year, then fine by me too…
me? biased against any particular school? hindi mo pa nga alam kung saan school(s) ako galing eh. but wait, have you actually watched the game yesterday? what were the shooting percentages? what were the number of turnovers for both teams? would you say that the game qualifies as a duel between two of the finest basketball teams this year? look at the stats and then tell me without bias that what I watched yesterday was a possible preview of this year’s final 4 maybe?
or do you just happen to believe that the very low score and scoring percentages were a function of tight defense? then let’s see the defensive stats…
yes, pcu WAS a contender two years ago with castro and espinas around. that doesn’t mean they are strong all the time and everytime. i don’t think they can still be considered strong this year, for example. my guess is that they have their work cut out for them just to make it to the final 4…
but like i said, if you think they are, then fine! geez!
dangerous diaz
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 9:39 am
@bystandar, who’s fooling whom? those won games by CSB are factual. before you comment on these wins or CSB’s chances, then why don’t you just wait for their next games.
why not comment on letran’s win over JRU? that game was no different between the CSB-PCU game if we’re going to follow your analysis. PCU is not exactly a lightweight in college basketball even if they “came from a long rest”. La Salle won last year’s UAAP after being gone for a year.
your post is so biased and unobjective. it shows too much one-sidedness just to be able to put down a school you hate because of its presumed eliteness.
if you are going to be biased, then do it on the basis of promoting your team, but not to the extent of attacking other teams. at least if you’re going to critique CSB’s chances, then do it objectively.
bystander
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 8:49 am
Let’s not be fooled by CSB’s 2-0 record. So far, they have only played against PCU which is coming back from a long rest and which is only a shadow of their ‘06 team featuring Castro and Espina who have both turned pro. Even their win against Perpetual yesterday wasn’t impressive at all! They won only because they were marginally better than a weak team.
Are they up against Letran in their next game? Geez, I think they are in for a major spanking! Hahaha! Or JRU? They will be canon fodder for the Bombers. Heaven forbid that they face the Red Lions next…or else they can kiss whatever confidence they were able to gain from those two wins.
bystander
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Thursday, 3 July 2008 at 8:39 am
Before the season started, I actually thought JRU is a contender. Judging from their performance during the summer leagues plus the fact that their team is relatively intact from last year.
But after seeing them play against the Knights, I realized that they are still a long way off. Ok, let’s see how they play against Baste or Mapua. Because if they can’t get past the Knights, they don’t stand a chance against San Beda.
Talagang hanggang hopia na lang sila!
mhaldita
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Wednesday, 2 July 2008 at 8:16 pm
right letranites??
mhaldita
+0
Wednesday, 2 July 2008 at 8:15 pm
nope your wrong! jaypee belencion-jersey #16 of letran knights is the rookie of the year..
ballbuster
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Wednesday, 2 July 2008 at 3:18 pm
Lopez rookie of the year!
@ bedab
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Wednesday, 2 July 2008 at 3:10 pm
at “SM” sobrang mayabang.
@ bedan
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Wednesday, 2 July 2008 at 3:09 pm
weather weather lang yan. naging big “L” looser din nmn kayo diba?
kaya wag kang mayabang. be humble! sayang ang galing nyo kung “M” masama nmn ugali mo.
bedan
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Tuesday, 1 July 2008 at 10:13 am
@bombers
isa kang malaking “L” looser.
asaness
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Tuesday, 1 July 2008 at 12:13 am
@ concern citizen
tama ka jan hehe saka dpat hnd na nila knuha c saranggay,ang laki nga hnd nman mkapalag sa big men ng beda,hehe kc bkt sa team B ng other team sila kumukuha ng players for team A..saka dpat mgkaron sila ng rebounding coach nkaka awa ung rebound stat nila vs beda..or,kuha sila ng 7-footer na import na may potencial ewan ko lang kung dpa sila manalo hehehe—opinion q lang
fuego
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 11:23 pm
san sa amoranto?:)
chino roces
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 11:04 pm
Another Muralla vs Mendiola Finals ….
trueknight
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 8:39 pm
Granted na malakas ang BEDA at sila ang back to back champions. galing ng import nyong si Ekwe… much improved outside shooting. Sana tayo ulit maglaban sa finals. The Knights are ready for the battle and both prepared and eager to win the war. ARRIBA LETRAN!!!! ARRIBA!!! KNIGHTS!!
concern citizen
+0
Monday, 30 June 2008 at 5:19 pm
pano ba naman ang coach ng mapua na c leo isaac 8 walo lang pinalaro! natural alam na ng players ng beda ang moves ng bawat player ng mapua! ayaw niyang palitan ang mga players nuiya at i-mix!!
pati naman etong si jonathan banal natakot kay ekwe! nagtawanan tuloy ang mga tao!! nakakahiya!! ang boring ng game! tambak!! yan tuloy!! palakasan kasi eh!! go beda na lang tayo!
palitan na ang bulok na sistema ng mapua kung gusto nila manalo!! sayang e!!
ric
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 4:37 pm
BTW:
ANG SEXY NG MUSE NG LETRAN AND SAN BEDA!
ric
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 4:27 pm
To redredred:
Tama ka and as a Bedan alumnus, I or we should always respect Letranites kahit may pagka gagu sila
My father even said na yung mga high school freshmen nila binibinyagan ng bug-bog ng mga 4th year high school students ng Letran eh
Pero yun lang, I really respect Letran.
The Red Animo
+0
Monday, 30 June 2008 at 3:22 pm
beda-letran na ito sa FINALS!!!!
UPHOLD THE ANIMO!!!
ANIMO SAN BEDA!!!!!!
the coach review
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Monday, 30 June 2008 at 2:18 pm
im refering to jru’s john lopez no. 14
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