Defense, indeed, wins ball games.

This was proven true anew on Friday, as the Letran Knights came out pressing their stifling defense the entire ball game, handing the San Sebastian Stags their first-ever loss of the NCAA’s 85th season via an 80-63.

Smart-Gilas standouts Rey Guevarra and RJ Jazul brought their A-game into the match by combining for 54 of Letran’s total output.

“Our game plan was really to come out with our relentless defense from the 1st period up to the final buzzer,” said Letran head coach Louie Alas. 

Asked if the team will still make other adjustments as they will possibly face the Stags in the next round after being assured of the fourth spot in the Final Four, Alas replied, “I still have to study the game tape.  But why fix it if it ain’t broken?  Probably, we’ll just refine our plays and defensive sets.”

Despite losing three of their big men – John Foronda, Jomar Datang, and Kristoffer Alas – to foul trouble, the Knights were still able to pull the rugs under the Stags, smothering the opposition with their unforgiving defense.

Guevarra and Jazul finished with 27 points apiece, while the rest of their teammates combined for 26 markers.  On the other hand, Jimbo Aquino, the forerunner in this season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, and Calvin Abueva led San Sebastian’s charge with 23 and 18 points, respectively.

With the Stags (15-1 win-loss card) failing to duplicate the feat accomplished by the 1987 and 1988 San Sebastian champion squads, they also fell short of clinching an automatic finals berth that could have assured them a spot in the best-of-three Finals showdown.  Letran, meanwhile, improves its record to 12-5.

In the juniors division, the Letran Squires notched their 17th straight victory and kept their unblemished slate with an 81-73 drubbing of the San Sebastian Staglets.