Eight teams slugged it out in the tough Elite 8 round of the Nike Summer League, and now it is down to the Final 4. After some six weeks of top-notch basketball competition, the Nike Summer League is now into the homestretch. Here are the four teams that made the semifinals.
De La Salle Zobel versus Letran College
A squad that started off the tournament with a couple of bad losses will face the NCAA Season 84 runner-up in what has to be the toughest and most anticipated match of the Final 4. There is a heck of a payback angle here since the Junior Archers just lost to the Squires in the Filipino-Chinese Basketball League championship over the weekend. If that finals encounter was any indication, this Final 4 showdown should be a doozey.
Zobel edged NCAA powerhouse San Beda College 81 – 80 thanks to the combined efforts of the vastly-improved Luigi De La Paz and 6-foot-7 diamond in the rough Arnold Van Opstal. San Beda had the lead for about 35 minutes until De La Paz found the range in the payoff fourth period.
San Beda went to its tall frontline early as Jay Javier and Ponso Gotladera caught nifty passes from Amer Basher and Dave Moralde to get gimme baskets down low. Von Chavez also got going early on as the Red Cubs maintained several 10-point leads and was up by as much as 13 at one point. But the fourth period belonged to De La Paz as the shifty swingman nailed a couple of treys apart from breaking down the red and white defense with his dribble-penetration. De La Paz led all scorers with 22 points while Amer had 17 for San Beda.
Letran outlasted reigning UAAP champion Ateneo De Manila 64 – 57 behind the electric duo of Jerelan Tampus and Glen Khobuntin. This was a closer game than the final score suggests as the Eaglets and the Squires were virtually at each others throats all throughout playing in spurts. Tampus and Khobuntin put together a 13-2 finishing kick including some clutch freethrows in the last 66 seconds for the final score.
While Letran stuck to its veterans including Jeff Ongteco, Ateneo had to dig deep with the absence of key players. Ateneo played without three vital cogs: Keifer Ravena, Von Pessumal and Paolo Romero are all overseas with the Nokia 16-under national team. Apart from the national team players, center Paolo Pe was also in street clothes, while Kevin Erazo was unavailable due to his class schedule. New grade school graduates Jay Javelosa, Mark Gamboa and Mio Puno, plus reserves Andro Alonte, Mac Resurreccion and Dan Armenia also saw heavy quality minutes. Tampus was the high man with 24 while emerging star Louie Sinco had 16 for Ateneo.
Santo Tomas versus Jose Rizal University
Two teams on the up and up in the UAAP and the NCAA respectively will square off for the right to fight for the title. Both the Tiger Cubs and the Light Bombers are known for being among the most competitive teams in their respective leagues. They may not necessarily be fixtures in the championships but they always duke it out tooth and nail and manage to give even the top team or two major fits in their encounters. Now it seems it is their time to shine.
Santo Tomas hung on for the close 66 – 63 win over a stubborn Rizal Technological University. RTU was the only non-UAAP and non-NCAA team to make it into the quarterfinals with their tall and talented lineup and they gave UST all they could handle.
Jojo Gonzalez and Mac Jimenez conspired to give the Tiger Cubs several double-digit leads but they just could not gain any significant separation against Rizal Tech. Former Ateneo aspirant Nico Montelibano kept RTU in the fight with timely hits and relentless rebounding. Storm Rivas ran the UST offense with aplomb and called out the defense constantly to keep RTU at bay. Gonzalez had 17 markers for the Tiger Cubs while Montelibano led Rizal Tech with 16.
Jose Rizal built up a couple of 10-point leads and basically kept their undermanned NCAA rivals from Greenhills at arms length all game long for the 81 – 73 victory. Another up and coming tandem – pointguard Jo Saret and forward Louie Vigil – led the way for the boys from Mandaluyong.
It seemed at first that the Junior Blazers would be making a return to the NSL Finals as they went up quickly 12 – 3. But the Light bombers recovered quickly on the strength of their quick transition game. Saret constantly harassed the Lasalle guards and took the ball away face-up on several occasions. Vigil used his length and quickness to exploit mismatches on the drive and in the halfcourt sets against shorter Lasalle defenders.
Lasalle kept plugging away but JRU had an answer all the time. In the minute and a half the Light Bombers finally had enough of a cushion at 81-70 to cruise to the win. Vigil had a day-high 29 points to go with 16 rebounds while Mark Flores had 12 and Luigi Pumaren 11 for a balanced Lasalle offense.
End notes: Lyceum Manila survived Lasalle 72-71 in double overtime to complete the quarterfinal Elite 8 cast for the senior division. Regulation ended at 61-all, then the first overtime at 66-all.
