Letran Knights aiming at Final 4 stint

**Admin Magic Man13** Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:36 am

THE Letran Knights are raring to make another Final Four appearance in the 87th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball season.

But it could be a long and difficult journey for the Knights, who last reached the Final Four two years ago.

Last year, the Knights struggled from the start and eventually ended fifth overall, winning only seven games in 16 games, not enough for a Final Four stint.

The Knights were actually relegated to darkhorse status since their semifinal stint two years ago, with the emergence of the San Beda Red Lions and the San Sebastian Stags as powerhouse squads. The Red Lions took the crown in 2009.

This season, though, the Knights have a good reason to feel upbeat about their chances, their confidence getting a boost after productive stints in pre-season tournaments such as the Filoil Flying V Hanes Pre-Season Premier Cup and the Fr. Martin Cup.

“Nag-improve ang mga bata at nag-mature ang team namin. ‘Yun ang magandang balita. Pero ang bad news, lahat ng team ay nag-improve din. That is why it’s going to be a rough season for us,” said long-time coach Louie Alas.

Alas, who is on his 11th season as Letran coach, spent a lot of time watching the games of the summer cagefests after the Knights finished with a 2-6 card in the Filoil-Flying V cagefest and tallied a 6-3 mark in the Fr. Martin tournament.

Their pre-season stints also helped their rookies and sophomores to gain more experience going into the NCAA’s regular season, which starts July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Knights, who lost JP Belencion, Alysious Taplah, Rodolfo Rodil, Lean Alejandro and Rey Publico to graduation, still have nine veterans in their fold, with enough experience to keep the team in contention.

They are the Alas brothers Kevin and Junjun, Jonathan Belorio, VJ Espiritu, Franz Dysam, Andrei Pantin and Raymond Almazan, while Alas also expects quality minutes from rookies 6’4” Mark Cruz, a former Letran Squire, and his Squires teammate Zyrone Cudal and Team B players Kevin Racal and Andrei Mendoza.

Alas said the team is 90 percent ready, and is looking forward to returning to its rightful place in the Final Four.

Peter Atencio, Manila Standard Today