Letran’s Kevin Alas goes to the basket against Gabriel Banal, Jed Manguera and Joseph Tolentino Joseph of La Salle during Wednesday’s Sweet 16 Finals match of the Champions League at the Ynares gym in Pasig. (Photo by ALI VICOY)

Letran dethroned La Salle University, 83-72, on Wednesday to advance into the quarterfinal round of the Sweet 16 Finals of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) championship at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Reigning UAAP champion Ateneo also advanced as expected, cruising past Lyceum, 73-63, in the other game.

Meeting for the first time since their unfinished riotous game in 1980, the Knights dominated the Archers, leading by as many as 14 points.

Pilo Pumaren, La Salle’s coach in 1980, watched the game with his wife.

Letran played without RJ Jazul, Rey Guevarra and Kirk del Rosario, but J.P. Belencion stepped up with a game-high 36 points, including 10 three-point shots.

“He was unstoppable. His performance was amazing. I’ve never seen him play like this in the NCAA.” said Alas on his 23-year-old prized find from Jaro, Iloilo.
“We didn’t expect to win because my three star players were not around.”

Jazul is playing for Smart-Gilas national team while Guevarra and Del Rosario are still recovering from injuries.

The Archers, who beat the Eagles in the final last year, trailed through most of the game and appeared to be out of sync.

Franz Pumaren, calling the shots for the Archers for the last time, showed his displeasure and walked back to the dugout ahead of his players.

Joshua Webb topscored for the Archers with 18 points, but was held to just a point in the final quarter by Belencion.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Ateneo’s top player, did not suit up because of his Smart-Gilas commitments, but his presence was hardly needed.

The Eagles, the top seeds, built a 41-27 halftime lead and padded it to 65-43 after three quarters.

Nico Salva led the Eagles with 17 points while  Jai Reyes and  Ryan Buenafe added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Nonoy Baclao, a member of the Philippine Patriots team campaigning in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), contributed nine points.

Ateneo and Letran now await their quarterfinal opponents.

The Eagles will take on the winner between Jose Rizal and University of Santo Tomas while the Knights will face either NCAA champion San Sebastian College and University of San Carlos.

Both first round matches will be held on Monday at the Ormoc Dome in Ormoc City.

In Monday’s opening games, Far Eastern University and San Beda College rolled to victories against respective opponents.

The Tamaraws turned back Arellano University, 69-59, while the Lions crushed San Sebastian College-Cavite, 91-50.

The tournament, sponsored by PLDT and Smart, resumes on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan and on Monday at the Ormoc Dome in Ormoc City.

The scores:
LETRAN 83 – Belencion 36, Gutilban 15, Alas, K. 12, Cortes 10, Taplah 10, Foronda 3, Malabago 2, Ang 2, Pantin  0, Alas 0, Kris 0
LA SALLE 72 – Webb 18, Bringas 13, Bagatsing 12, Atkins 8, Ferdinand 5, Andrada 4, Banal 3, Tolentino 3, Mendoza 2, Barua 2, Manguera 0, Marata 0
Quarterscores: 21-9, 36-35, 64-52, 83-72.

ATENEO 73 – Salva 17, Reyes 13, Bueanfe 11, Baclao 9, Salamat 8, Chua 5, Sumalinog 5, Long 3, Monfort 2, Golia 2, de Chavez 0
LYCEUM 63 – Abaya 16,  Cayabyab 10, Rimando 10, Guevara 7, Ong 5, Mendoza 4, Francisco 4, de Guzman 3, Lacap 2, Anacpa 2, Deduyo 0.
Quarterscores: 20-15, 41-27, 65-43, 73-63.