MANILA – King Caralipio capped his collegiate career with a sterling performance as Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights bagged the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball title with an 81-67 win over College of St. Benilde Blazers on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Caralipio, one of the four graduating players of the Knights, posted a solid double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knights captured its third straight championship with a 2-1 win in their best-of-three series. Caralipio led the squad’s frenetic 19-2 scoring barrage in the second quarter that turned a 32-26 lead to a 51-28 advantage with two minutes left in the opening half.
The Blazers attempted to come close several times in the third quarter. They cut the deficit to 14 points but Brent Paraiso, Tommy Olivario and Caralipio answered back to preserve the win.
“Lahat ng sakripisyo namin nagbunga,” said Caralipio, who was later hailed as the Finals MVP. “Last laro ko na ito, ga-graduate na ako kaya binuhos ko na lahat ng kaya ko para makuha itong championship.”
Paraiso, a transferee from the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, ended his collegiate career with 16 points, including two triples, while Kobe Monje also ended with double-digits for Letran with 11 markers.
The victory completed a NCAA three-peat for the Knights – a feat the school has not achieved since Samboy Lim led the school to a NCAA hat trick from 1982 to 1984.
“Palagi ko sinasabi na I’m proud of my players,” said Knights head coach Bonnie Tan. “Mula sa third stringers namin hanggang sa mga graduating players, proud ako kahit ano mangyari kahit manalo o matalo kami.”
“From the start, alam naman nating lahat na hirap na hirap kami, we had a depleted lineup. With the coaches, na-solve naman natin kahit papano,” added the three-peat NCAA champion coach.
Negrense Miggy Corteza led the way for the runner-up Blazers with 14 points and seven rebounds, while James Pasturan chipped in 10 markers and six assists.
Will Gozum, the NCAA Season 98 MVP awardee, struggled with just 10 points before being ejected with over a minute left in the championship game for headbutting Letran center Pao Javillonar.
BOX SCORE:
LETRAN 81 – Caralipio 20, Paraiso 16, Monje 11, Reyson 8, Sangalang 8, Santos 7, Olivario 4, Go 4, Guarino 2, Javillonar 1, Tolentino 0, Bojorcelo 0.
CSB 67 – Corteza 14, Pasturan 10, Gozum 10, Oczon 9, Sangco 6, Nayve 6, Flores 5, Marcos 3, Cullar 2, Carlos 2, Davis 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 51-33, 70-54, 81-67./PN
