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I was able to watch the Final 4 games and also the Finals of the prestigious 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship(PCC). The final 4 matches were both nail-biting games. ADMU escaped the relentless Knights by a single point while the San Beda failed to keep the lead against scrappy DLSU.

I would have preferred a finals showdown between San Beda and Ateneo in the finals because I wanted to see the Ekwe-Al Hussaini match-up. Anyways, the finals featured a rematch of the this year's UAAP finals, DLSU versus ADMU. The Blue Eagles played without ace guard Cris Tiu (entire PCC) and rookie sensation Ryan Buenafe (finals match).

The Eagles struggled with the pressure defense of DLSU. The team committed a lot of turnovers which translated to tons of turnover points. ADMU's main man Rabeh Al-Hussaini also played a poor game. He picked up two early fouls in the 1st quarter and never got back on track since then.

De La Salle University bounced back from its disappointing loss in the UAAP by defeating Ateneo de Manila University, 71-62, to capture the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship at the Araneta Coliseum.

JV Casio sizzled for 17 of his 20 points in the second half while adding six rebounds, six assists and three steals to be named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

It was a fitting end to Casio’s collegiate career, two months after the Archers got swept aside by the Blue Eagles in the UAAP finals.

And for head coach Franz Pumaren, he was glad to steered the Taft-based squad to the national championship.

“Well at least we won a big one,” said Pumaren. “I thought we would be zero this ‘08 but at least based on this tournament, we are the number one collegiate team in the country.”

Trailing 29-28 entering the second half, the Archers erected a telling 17-4 capped off by a teardrop shot by Casio at the 5:19 mark for a 45-33 advantage.

From there, it was all La Salle as Ateneo’s closest threat came at 51-46 at the end of the third before Casio uncorked 10 points in the pivotal period that sealed the title.

DLSU also received the Manny V. Pangilinan Perpetual Trophy and 1,000,000 pesos cash prize, half of it going to the winning squad. They will also represent the country in the 2009 Universiade in Serbia.

“Probably wanting to redeem themselves and wanting to be the top team in the country was their motivation,” said Pumaren. “That’s why it is so satisfying for us because everybody wanted to participate and they were really serious about this tournament.”

Peejay Barua was the other double-digit scorer with 10 points while Bader Malabes and Ferdinand added eight and seven, respectively.

Jai Reyes led all scorers with 22 points and shot 6-of-12 threes in the game while Rabeh Al-Hussaini added 10 points and four boards but shot a poor 2-of-10 clip from the field. The Blue Eagles claimed 500,000 pesos for their bridesmaid finish.

Despite the height disadvantage, the Archers managed to dominate the Eagles, 53-39, in the rebounding department while allowing Ateneo to shot just 25 percent from the floor.

Ateneo played minus UAAP rookie of the year Ryan Buenafe, who was sick, Jobe Nkemakolam and Chris Tiu, who watched Manny Pacquiao‘s victory over Oscar dela Hoya in Las Vegas.

“This is not the same team that played in the UAAP so what can we do,” said Black. “But congratulations to La Salle, they deserved the win.”

Meanwhile, Colegio de San Juan de Letran managed to beat NCAA champion San Beda, 75-67, to take home third place plus 200,000 pesos.

The Knights leaned on RJ Jazul’s 17 points and six rebounds and Dino Daa’s 16 points and nine rebounds as they pull away from the Red Lions in the final canto.

Sam Ekwe, playing his last match as a Red Lion, scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots in a losing cause. JR Tecson and Ogie Menor added 11 and 10 markers each.

Casio, Al-Hussaini, Jazul, Nonoy Baclao and Rico Maierhofer were all named to the tournament’s Mythical Five selection.

The scores:

First Game

LETRAN 75 - Jazul 17, Daa 16, Guevarra 9, Melegrito 9, Ranises 8, Cabonce 6, Belencion 5, Cortes 2, Gutilban 2, Del Rosario 1, Dangcal 0.

SAN BEDA 68 - Ekwe 21, Tecson 11, Menor 10, Pascual 7, Taganas 6, Villanueva 4, Gamalinda 4, Marcelo 2, Lanete 2, Taupa 0, Soliman 0, Tirona 0.

Quarters: 15-15; 35-32; 50-53; 75-67

Second Game

LA SALLE 71 - Casio 20, Barua 10, Malabes 8, Ferdinand 7, Mangahas 5, Bagatsing 5, Maierhofer 5, Webb 5, Mendoza 2, Lee 0.

ATENEO 62 - Reyes 22, Al-Hussaini 10, Gonzaga 6, Salva 5, Baclao 4, Baldos 4, Salamat 2, Escueta 2, Long 2, Sumalinog 0.

Quarters: 9-13; 28-29; 51-46; 71-62.

Written by jonas_terrado
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:45:00 AM

Congratulations to the winners. KUDOS de La Salle.