Dolphins outhustle, outlast Knights

Philippine Christian U, drawing spunk and firepower from reserve guard Jason Castro at crunch time, whipped Letran, 79-74, in a seesawing duel in Game One of their NCAA best-of-three title series at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

Castro made 12 of his 21 points in the last four minutes of play, fuelling a searing PCU charge from a seven-point deficit which the Dolphins surprisingly made with main man Gabby Espinas riding the bench on fouls.

With Espinas helpless on the bench, Castro gamely took the cudgels for PCU and the Dolphins went on to outlast the Knights at the finish, taking the win that put them on the threshold of back-to-back championships.

The Dolphins go for the title-repeat in Game Two tomorrow in the same venue.

"Phenomenal," said PCU coach Junel Baculi in describing Castro’s performance.

Espinas, the 2004 rookie-MVP, sizzled with 20 points but fouled out with six minutes and 44 seconds to go in the contest on a foul-bait by Jonathan Aldave from behind the arc.

Aldave missed all his three free throws but made a baby-hook a play later to give the Knights a 70-65 lead, the momentum and a chance to pounce on PCU’s foul-riddled lineup with Joel Solis and Carlos Cecilia having joined Espinas in the sideline.

But Castro didn’t let that happen.

The 20-year-old Guagua, Pampanga native set up Lisztian Amparado and Rob Sanz for jumpers and drained a triple of his own in a 11-0 blitz that had the Dolphins turning the game around at endgame.

"Despite all the bad breaks that went our way, we showed the heart of the champion," said Baculi.

Espinas led the PCU attack early on but Letran still enjoyed a 20-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Amparado took over in the second quarter as PCU made a decisive run to surge ahead, 37-27.

But Aaron Aban and Jonathan Pinera joined forces in a Letran counterattack that had the Knights trimming the gap to two points at the half, 42-44.

Earlier, San Sebastian stunned three-peat champion San Beda, 83-76, to move within a win of the NCAA juniors crown.

Meanwhile, St. Benilde’s Jay Sagad was named the season’s Most Valuable Player. Mapua’s Kelvin dela Pena was named Rookie of the Year while Letran’s Aban bagged the Most Improved Award.