Knights near title-retention

MANILA, Philippines — Trailing most of the game and with their top gun Rhenz Abando taken out after tweaking an ankle, Letran was left to pray and hope for its perfect season to remain unblemished.

The heavens answered by sending in an unlikely hero in Brent Paraiso.

Filling in the void left by a grimacing Abando, Paraiso played the game of his life as he helped power the Knights to a come-from-behind 68-63 win over the upset-conscious Mapua Cardinals yesterday to move on the verge of crowning themselves NCAA Season 97 champions.

When the chips were down, it was Paraiso, a transferee from University of Santo Tomas like Abando minus the hype, who sparked their fourth-quarter fightback that lifted Letran to a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three title series.

Paraiso finished with 14 points, some of which came in the critical stretch of the final canto, to go with five rebounds and the same number of assists, enough to plug in the holes left by Abando, who sprained his left ankle after landing on a foot of teammate Louie Sangalang and was taken out late in the third period.

The MVP race leader finished with just 13 points.

Good thing Paraiso played heavenly.

“I thank my coaches and teammates for trusting me, it was a team game,” said Paraiso.

Letran, which seeks its 19th crown, could complete a season sweep with another victory in Game 2 Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

A decider, if necessary, is on May 29 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

Drawing strength from their tough defense and clutch shooting, the Cardinals, playing their first finals in 31 years, controlled the tempo for most part of the game and appeared headed to a massive upset especially after Abando went down.

Mapua, though, couldn’t sustain its controlled play and collapsed in the end, allowing Letran to snatch the series-opener.

It was a highly physical and emotional game from the onset as it saw referees handing out a total of four technical fouls, including one on Letran coach Bonnie Tan, and two flagrant fouls on Mapua’s Jasper Selanga early in the game that led to his ejection.