College of Saint Benilde head coach Charles Tiu felt glad that the officials made the right call on the Fran Yu play.
Right at the 5:29 mark of the second quarter, Yu was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after hitting Mark Sangco with an elbow to the face while the latter was moving back after a boxout play with Pao Javilionar.
“At the end of the day, you can’t keep on hitting guys and getting away with it. They’ve been hitting us all series long.
“We just kept taking it and taking it, but it’s about time we also stood up for ourselves. I’m happy about how we were able to bounce back,” said the youthful, second-year coach.
The NCAA Season 98 Finals MVP was the third player ejected for Letran in the Finals, joining Kobe Monje and Kyle Tolentino.
Yu finished Game Two with six points on 50-percent shooting, and a steal in 8:10 minutes.
Tiu vows that they will take advantage of the loss of the Knights’ ace point guard come Game Three.
“Fran is a big piece for their team. He is a great player. We got to pressure them more I guess because their rotation will be much shorter,” said Tiu.
Gozum, on the other hand – who has close ties with Yu after both playing in the Batang Gilas program – had this to say.
“Siguro kay Kuya Fran, dinidefend niya lang yung sarili niya. Kasi championship e, iba yung atmosphere. All out e,” said the league MVP.
Game Three will be on Sunday, December 18 at Ynares Center Antipolo.
