Letran's Almazan named MVP, top defender

MANILA, Philippines -- Letran center Raymond Almazan has been named Most Valuable Player as well as Defensive Player of the Year of the NCAA Season 89 men's basketball tournament.

Almazan, who led Letran to a 14-4 record and the second-seed, had a total of 55.61 statistical points (SPs) to top the league.

Joining Almazan in the Mythical Five are: San Beda's Ola Adeogun (50.33 SPs), Perpetual's Harold Arboleda (46.78 SPs), Emilio Aguinaldo's Noube Happi (46.56 SPs) and Perpetual's Nosa Omorogbe (44.71 SPs).

Almazan also beat out Adeogun and Happi to win the Defensive Player of the Year award after averaging 7.83 defensive rebounds, a league-leading 2.72 blocks, and 0.61 steal per game for the Knights.

Almazan is in his final year for Letran and was recently selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2013 PBA Rookie Draft.

Perpetual Help's Juneric Baloria won the Rookie of the Year award, while Michael Mabulac of Jose Rizal University was named Most Improved Player.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Michigan, Louisville advance to NCAA Finals

MANILA, Philippines – The top-seeded Louisville Cardinals will battle the Michigan Wolverines for the national championship after they beat separate opponents in the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Tournament favorite Louisville rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to beat ninth-seeded Wichita State, 72-68, at the Georgia Dome.

It was the 15th victory in a row for the Cardinals, who were led by Russ Smith (21 points) and Luke Hancock (20 points).

Hancock fired a corner triple with 6:30 to go that gave Louisville their first lead of the second half. He hit another three-pointer with two minutes left to put the Cardinals on top.

He then found his way to the rim on two drives, part of a 25-9 Louisville run to end the game.

Cleanthony Early finished with 24 points for the Shockers, who were making their first appearance in the Final Four since 1965.

Meanwhile, Michigan reached the national championship game after beating Syracuse, 61-56.

The Wolverines, which feature national player of the year Trey Burke as well as several players with NBA lineage, advanced to the finals for the first time since 1993.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led Michigan with 13 points, while Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III both scored 10 points. Burke was limited to seven markers.

CJ Fair scored 22 points for the Orange.

Injured Louisville guard Kevin Ware, who broke his leg during the Cardinals’ Elite Eight win over Duke, made his way to the bench as time ticked down.

The Cardinals, who were making their 10th appearance in the Final Four, have won the national championship twice, in 1980 and 1986.

Meanwhile, Michigan is seeking its first national title since 1989. -- Reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse

source: abs-cbnnews.com