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    James Canlas says defense will win NCAA championship for San Beda

    James Canlas insists defense will win the NCAA championship for San Beda
    Nov 18, 2019
    PHOTO: dante peralta

    JAMES Canlas is expected to again deliver big numbers on offense for San Beda, but the Fil-Canadian guard reiterates what every top coach tells players as they look to complete a finals comeback in the NCAA Season 95 basketball tournament.

    "We just got to play defense always," said Canlas.

    The Red Lions made it a tough day in the office for the Knights from the get-go, starting off hot with a 15-0 opener of Game Two on the way to leveling the title series.

    Though Letran was able to claw back behind the heroics of Fran Yu, San Beda was able to stifle the opposition in the clutch, making two crucial stops in the final minute to crawl back from a 76-74 deficit before Jerrick Balanza's desperation pass to Allen Mina was bugged as the final buzzer sounded.

    Canlas had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

    "We wanted to go in Game Two and make a point," said Canlas, who accounted for 10 of the Red Lions' 26 fourth quarter points, including the game-icing freebies with 4.5 seconds left.

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      "We were not backing down against Letran. We wanted this one. We didn’t want to go home with a loss. We’re the defending champions and we wanted to prove something to everybody. I know everybody’s against us, but we showed we weren’t ready to go home."

      It was a statement game, indeed, for the Red Lions, whose will just couldn't be denied after seeing their 18-0 record and subsequent 32-game win streak end in a tough 65-64 Game One defeat.

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      Canlas, who earned his place in the Mythical Team, vowed to deliver more of the same in the winner-take-all Game Three on Tuesday with San Beda seeking its championship No. 23.

      "I just have to step up and make big plays for my team," he said. "We gotta make big plays and give credit to coach also for always telling us that we just gotta execute and we’ll win the ball game."

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      PHOTO: dante peralta
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