2003 Letran Knights basketball team

The 2003 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the 79th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2003-04 began on June 28, 2003, and the host school for the season was San Sebastian College – Recoletos.[1]

2003 Letran Knights men's basketball
NCAA Season 79 champions
Record
Elims rank #1
Final rank#1
2003 record12–6 (9–5 elims)
Head coachLouie Alas (3rd season)
CaptainRonjay Enrile (3rd season)
Seasons
← 2002
2004 →

The Knights finished the double round-robin eliminations at first place with 9 wins against 5 losses.[2][3] They then eliminated the Mapúa Cardinals in the Final Four to advance in the finals and faced the hosts and two-time defending champions San Sebastian Stags.[4][5]

The Knights went on to defeat the Stags in three games to capture their 15th NCAA championship, ending their three-year title drought.[6][7] Ronjay Enrile was named Finals Most Valuable Player and member of the Mythical Five.[6][7]

Roster

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Letran Knights roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Year High School
C 4   Caindoy, John Christopher 6'5" (1.96m) 1st
G 5   Santos, Radjan Dale 5'10" (1.78m) 4th Don Bosco Academy
G 6   Fedelicio, Mark Anthony 5'8" (1.73m) 1st Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G 7   Balneg, Mark Anthony 6'2" (1.88m) 1st Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G 8   Bautista, Boyet 5'8" (1.73m) 2nd Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G 9   Enrile, Ronjay 5'11" (1.8m) 3rd Colegio de San Juan de Letran
C 10   Rodriguez, Frederick 6'4" (1.93m) 2nd Bataan National High School of Arts and Trade
C 11   Pinera, Jonathan 6'5" (1.96m) 1st
F 12   Aldave, Jonathan 6'2" (1.88m) 2nd San Andres Vocational School
C 13   Reyes, Kristoffer 6'4" (1.93m) 4th
C 14   Realista, Michael John 6'4" (1.93m) 1st
F 15   Anabo, Billy Ray 6'2" (1.88m) 2nd Colegio de San Juan de Letran
F 15   Quinday, Andro Gil 6'2" (1.88m) 1st
F 17   Aban, Aaron Abril 6'3" (1.91m) 2nd Liceo de Cagayan University
F 18   Ebajay, Norman 6'2" (1.88m) 2nd Liceo de Cagayan University
Head coach
Team manager
  • Ramon Oben

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured


Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Rodriguez Reyes Calindoy
PF Pinera Anabo Ebajay
SF Enrile Aldave Realista
SG Aban Santos Quinday
PG Bautista Fedelicio Balneg


NCAA Season 79 games results

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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 6:00 p.m. Mapúa Cardinals Araneta ColiseumQuezon City L 58–66 0–1
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 20


Jul 4 4:00 p.m. San Beda Red Lions Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 69–63 1–1
Jul 9 2:00 p.m. Benilde Blazers Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 77–75 2–1
Jul 14 4:00 p.m. San Sebastian Stags Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 73–64 3–1
Jul 16 4:00 p.m. JRU Heavy Bombers Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila L 67–78 3–2
Jul 23 4:00 p.m. Perpetual Altas Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 68–66 4–2
Jul 30 2:00 p.m. PCU Dolphins Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 84–72 5–2
First place after 1st round (5 wins–2 losses)
Second round of eliminations
Aug 6 2:00 p.m. Perpetual Altas Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 60–56 6–2
Aug 13 4:00 p.m. Mapúa Cardinals Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila L 65–77 6–3
Aug 18 4:00 p.m. San Beda Red Lions Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 76–65 7–3
Aug 22 4:00 p.m. Benilde Blazers Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila L 72–90 7–4
Aug 27 4:00 p.m. PCU Dolphins Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 94–90OT 8–4
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 36; Rebounds: Enrile – 9; Assists: Enrile – 9


Aug 29 2:00 p.m. San Sebastian Stags Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila L 61–63 8–5
Sep 3 2:00 p.m. JRU Heavy Bombers Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 80–78 9–5
Game Highs: Points: Aban – 20
First place at 9 wins–5 losses (4 wins–3 losses in the 2nd round)[a]
Final Four[b]
Sep 10 2:00 p.m. Mapúa Cardinals Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 72–66 1–0
(10–5)
Letran wins series in one game
Finals
Sep 17 4:00 p.m. San Sebastian Stags Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila W 89–73 1–0
(11–5)
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 24


Sep 19 4:00 p.m. San Sebastian Stags Rizal Memorial ColiseumManila L 77–85 1–1
(11–6)
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 22


Sep 24 3:00 p.m. San Sebastian Stags Cuneta AstrodomePasay W 64–59 2–1
(12–6)
Game Highs: Points: Bautista, Enrile – 19; Rebounds: Rodriguez – 14
Knights clinched 15th NCAA championship

Times listed above are in UTC+08:00

Notes:
  1. ^ Head-to-head record: Letran 1-1 San Sebastian; Letran +7
  2. ^ Letran held a twice-to-beat advantage over Mapúa

Awards

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Player Award
Ronjay Enrile NCAA Finals Most Valuable Player
NCAA Mythical Five member

Injuries

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Letran forward Aaron Aban suffered a deep cut on his left knee when he slammed into a rolltec advertising streamer during a match against CSB Blazers in the first round. Aban underwent surgery and needed a month to recuperate.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Navarro, June (June 28, 2003). "4 games usher 'NC'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  2. ^ Atencio, Peter (September 3, 2003). "Letran Gets Twice-to-Beat Advantage". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Navarro, June (September 4, 2003). "Knights emerge 2nd in Final 4". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Atencio, Peter (September 10, 2003). "Arriba Letran Off To Finals". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Villar, Joey (September 11, 2003). "Stags, Knights arrange NCAA title showdown". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Atencio, Peter (September 24, 2003). "Letran Knights Conquer 79th NCAA Championship!". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Rondez, Bobby (September 25, 2003). "Knights rule NCAA". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Atencio, Peter (July 14, 2003). "The Knights Have Come". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on February 13, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2022.