Lions, Knights inspired by ’50 finals memory

By Joaquin Henson
The Philippine Star
Friday, September 21, 2007

With San Beda College a win away from claiming a second straight NCAA men’s senior basketball title, Letran College faces the grim predicament of beating the Red Lions twice in a row in the best-of-3 finals.

But the Knights are unfazed. Coach Louie Alas led Letran to the championship in 1998, 2003 and 2005. If there’s anyone who can bail the Knights out of disaster, it’s Alas who has never lost in an NCAA finals.

Former Philippine Olympic Committee president Col. Julian Malonso said yesterday the memory of the ’50 finals will inspire the Knights to bounce back. Malonso, 83, played for Letran in 1947 and was a teacher in Intramuros for nearly 40 years. He even married a Letran elementary school teacher, Honorata, proving his loyalty to the school.

Coincidentally, the Red Lions also draw inspiration from the ’50 finals where Letran raced to nine straight wins, lost to San Beda in the final elimination round game and rebounded to whip the Mendiolans in the knockout duel for the championship. San Beda will never forget the defeat and used it as a battlecry to win the next two NCAA crowns.

This year, Letran and San Beda are facing off in the NCAA finals for the first time since 1950. Letran hopes to recover from the loss to San Beda like the Knights did in 1950. And the Red Lions are determined to pay back Letran for that bitter setback nearly 60 years ago.

San Beda was a pioneer NCAA school when the league was established in 1924 – 14 years before the US formed its own version. Letran joined in 1928 and won the first of its 16 senior titles in 1938. The Red Lions own 12 senior championships but including juniors titles, San Beda has more crowns than Letran, 28 to 26.

Letran’s cagers are called Knights in honor of the school founder, Spanish officer Don Juan Geronimo Guerrero who was a Knight of Malta. The Red Lions got their name from Benedictine St. Venerable Bede of England whose heraldic symbol was the Red Lion Rampant, symbol of courage.

Among Letran’s legendary stars were Samboy Lim (who led the Knights to three titles in 1982, 1983 and 1984), Kerby Raymundo, Chris Calaguio, Freddie Webb, Willie Miller, Terry Saldana, Boyet Bautista, Ronjay Enrile, Aaron Aban, Florentino Bautista, Clemente Bargas, Chris Cantonjos, the Fajardo brothers, the Pineda brothers, Itoy Esguerra, Rino Salazar, Mark Andaya, Alfrancis Chua, Justo Ortiz (whose son-in-law is PBA great Hector Calma), Allan Salangsang, Jing Ruiz, Dave Regullano, Alex Marquez, Rudy Hines, Gido Babilonia, Mike Mustre, Jonathan Aldave, Jay-R Reyes, J. C. Intal, Lauro Mumar, Louie Tabuena and Herminio Astorga.

The San Beda stalwarts were Caloy Loyzaga and his sons, Tony Genato, the Cuna brothers, Bonnie Carbonnel, Eddie Lim, Big Boy Reynoso, the Pumaren brothers, Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Abe King, J. B. Yango, Eddie Lim, Pons Saldana, Charlie Borck, Antonio Carillo, Jesus Marzan, Angel de la Paz, Pocholo Martinez, Edward Dee, Luli Rius, Tata Carrranceja, Dave Brodett, Eric Altamirano, RenRen Ritualo, the Guzman brothers, Frankie Lim, Ato Morano, Boybits Victoria, Raffy Alberto, Rensy Bajar, Mike Advani, Gerry Esplana, Ford Arao, Cholo Martin and Louie Brill.

In 1950, the Knights – dubbed by sportscaster Willie Hernandez as Murder, Inc. – were bannered by 6-1 skipper Mumar (nicknamed “El Presidente”), Tabuena, Astorga, Cesar Sequera, Jose Iglesias, Nilo Verona, Cristino Cui, Chicho Manalac, Leo Pilones, Tony Vidal, Mel Manicsic, Carding Panis and Jose Rubio Gutierrez. Coach was Angel de Leon who played on the 1938 Letran championship squad.

San Beda’s lineup included Pons Saldana, Pablo Cuna, Ramon Dee, Eddie Lim, Piling Barretto, Erasto Caceres, Juanito Buenaflor and Domingo Chua. Fely Fajardo, who was de Leon’s teammate in 1938, piloted the Red Lions. Caloy (The Big Difference) Loyzaga joined the varsity the next season and promptly led the Red Lions to two consecutive crowns.

There were six teams in the NCAA in 1950 – Letran, San Beda, La Salle, Mapua, Jose Rizal and Ateneo.

Letran swept its five first round assignments and raced to a 9-0 record, needing only to beat San Beda in its final elimination game to clinch the crown outright. But the Red Lions spoiled the Knights’ party and forced a knockout duel for the title.

The date was Oct. 28, 1950. Over 13,000 fans packed the Rizal Coliseum for the NCAA championship game. The Red Lions led at the half, 34-32, but Letran stormed back to knot the count, 49-all, and scored the last six points of the contest to win, 66-55.

Astorga, later Vice Mayor of Manila, led all scorers with 21 points. Iglesias, who would become a bank manager and die in a car accident four years later, hit 17. Mumar, a 1948 Olympian and future PBA coach (his son Larry played in the PBA), added eight. Sequera, the tallest Knight at 6-3, contributed seven. Tabuena, later GAB chairman and airport manager, chipped in six.

Saldana, a 1952 Olympian, paced the Red Lions with 15 points. Cuna shot 12 and Dee, 10. Lim, a two-time Olympian and later a prominent stock broker, added nine.

“If you ask me how I felt when our team won the championship in 1938, I thought it was the happiest moment of my life,” said a jubilant de Leon who went on to coach at the American School. “But now I’ve found out it was my second happiest moment.”

One of San Beda’s survivors of the ’50 finals, Cuna, has been a fixture in the Red Lions gallery for decades. Now that the Red Lions are a win away from retaining the NCAA crown, Cuna couldn’t be more excited. His dream of exacting revenge on Letran is close to becoming a reality – after 57 years of waiting.