The 2008 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the 84th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2008-09 began on June 28, 2008, and the host school for the season was Mapúa Institute of Technology.[1]
| 2008 Letran Knights men's basketball | |
|---|---|
NCAA Season 84 semifinalist | |
| Record | |
| Elims rank | #3 |
| Final rank | #3 |
| 2008 record | 10–7 (9–5 elims) |
| Head coach | Louie Alas (8th season) |
| Assistant coaches | Justino Pinat Carmelo Alas Elmer Latonio |
| Captain | RJ Jazul (4th season) |
The Knights, after finishing the double round-robin eliminations with 9 wins against 5 losses, underwent a series of classification matches before landing at third place. In a tight race for the Final Four, four teams including the Knights, were tied from 2nd to 5th place. Letran beat the hosts Mapúa in the classification round, advancing in the second-seed playoff[2] and a virtual best-of-three series against JRU.[2] In the next round, the Heavy Bombers manhandled the Knights 69–53.[3][4] In the Final Four, the Knights were eliminated by JRU in one game.[5] Letran star shooting guard RJ Jazul was named one of the Mythical Five members.[6]
Roster edit
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Depth chart edit
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Foronda, J | Cortes | Ranises |
| PF | Daa | Cabonce | Foronda, C |
| SF | Guevarra | Dangcal | Lacamento |
| SG | Jazul | Gutilban | Belencion |
| PG | Del Rosario | Melegrito | Latonio |
NCAA Season 84 games results edit
Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on Studio 23.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result | Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round of eliminations | |||||||||||
| Jun 28 | 4:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Araneta Coliseum • Quezon City | W 83–69 | 1–0 | ||||||
| Jul 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Benilde Blazers | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 88–75 | 2–0 | ||||||
| Jul 11 | 2:00 p.m. | PCU Dolphins | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 73–62 | 3–0 | ||||||
| Jul 16 | 2:00 p.m. | San Sebastian Stags | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 71–67 | 4–0 | ||||||
| Jul 18 | 4:00 p.m. | Perpetual Altas | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 63–62 | 5–0 | ||||||
| Jul 23 | 4:00 p.m. | Mapúa Cardinals | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 67–60 | 6–0 | ||||||
| Jul 30 | 4:00 p.m. | San Beda Red Lions | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 67–71 | 6–1 | ||||||
| 1st place after the 1st round (6 wins–1 loss) | |||||||||||
| Second round of eliminations | |||||||||||
| Aug 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Benilde Blazers | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 90–65 | 7–1 | ||||||
| Aug 15 | 4:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 72–76 | 7–2 | ||||||
| Aug 20 | 4:00 p.m. | San Sebastian Stags | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 73–76 | 7–3 | ||||||
| Aug 25 | 2:00 p.m. | Perpetual Altas | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 74–66 | 8–3 | ||||||
| Aug 29 | 2:00 p.m. | Mapúa Cardinals | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 52–69 | 8–4 | ||||||
| Sep 5 | 2:00 p.m. | PCU Dolphins | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 60–54 | 9–4 | ||||||
| Sep 10 | 4:00 p.m. | San Beda Red Lions | Araneta Coliseum • Quezon City | L 63–65 | 9–5 | ||||||
| Tied for 2nd–5th place at 9 wins–5 losses (3 wins–4 losses in the 2nd round) | |||||||||||
| Classification round | |||||||||||
| Sep 15 | 4:00 p.m. | Mapúa Cardinals | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | W 62–52 | 1–0 (10–5) | ||||||
| Game Highs: Points: Daa – 24 | |||||||||||
| Advanced to second-seed playoff | |||||||||||
| 2nd seed Playoff | |||||||||||
| Sep 17 | 4:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 53–69 | 0–1 (10–6) | ||||||
| Game Highs: Points: Cortes, Jazul – 9; Rebounds: Daa – 11 | |||||||||||
| Lost the twice-to-beat advantage to JRU | |||||||||||
| Final Four[a] | |||||||||||
| Sep 19 | 4:00 p.m. | JRU Heavy Bombers | Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay | L 61–63 | 0–1 (10–7) | ||||||
| Game Highs: Points: Jazul – 17; Rebounds: Jazul – 4 | |||||||||||
| Lost series in one game | |||||||||||
Times listed above are in UTC+08:00
- ^ JRU held a twice-to-beat advantage over Letran
Awards edit
| Player | Award |
|---|---|
| RJ Jazul | NCAA Mythical Five member |
| Player of the Week — June 28–July 6 |
References edit
- ^ Ramos, Josef (June 29, 2008). "Knights pierce Heavy Bombers in opening day massacre". inboundPASS. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ a b Villar, Joey (September 16, 2008). "Letran, JRU arrange showdown for No. 2". Philstar.com. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "JRU smothers Letran, wins twice-to-beat edge". ABS-CBN News. September 17, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ Balbuena, Mae (September 18, 2008). "JRU may twice-to-beat". Philstar.com (in Filipino). Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "JRU wins ticket to NCAA Finals". ABS-CBN News. September 19, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "San Beda's Ekwe is seniors MVP, Agovida of JRU for juniors". ABS-CBN News. September 24, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2022.