2003 Letran Knights basketball team

2003 Letran Knights men's basketball
2003 Letran Knights men's basketball
NCAA Season 79 champions
Record
Elims rank	#1
Final rank	#1
2003 record	12–6 (9–5 elims)
Head coach	Louie Alas (3rd season)
Captain	Ronjay Enrile (3rd season)
	Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

The 2003 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the 79th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2003-04 began on June 28, 2003, and the host school for the season was San Sebastian College – Recoletos.^[1]

The Knights finished the double round-robin eliminations at first place with 9 wins against 5 losses.^[2]^[3] They then eliminated the Mapúa Cardinals in the Final Four to advance in the finals and faced the hosts and two-time defending champions San Sebastian Stags.^[4]^[5]

The Knights went on to defeat the Stags in three games to capture their 15th NCAA championship, ending their three-year title drought.^[6]^[7] Ronjay Enrile was named Finals Most Valuable Player and member of the Mythical Five.^[6]^[7]

Roster[edit]

Letran Knights roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Year	High School
C	4	Caindoy, John Christopher	6'5" (1.96m)	1st	–
G	5	Santos, Radjan Dale	5'10" (1.78m)	4th	Don Bosco Academy
G	6	Fedelicio, Mark Anthony	5'8" (1.73m)	1st	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G	7	Balneg, Mark Anthony	6'2" (1.88m)	1st	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G	8	Bautista, Boyet	5'8" (1.73m)	2nd	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
G	9	Enrile, Ronjay	5'11" (1.8m)	3rd	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
C	10	Rodriguez, Frederick	6'4" (1.93m)	2nd	Bataan National High School of Arts and Trade
C	11	Pinera, Jonathan	6'5" (1.96m)	1st	–
F	12	Aldave, Jonathan	6'2" (1.88m)	2nd	San Andres Vocational School
C	13	Reyes, Kristoffer	6'4" (1.93m)	4th	–
C	14	Realista, Michael John	6'4" (1.93m)	1st	–
F	15	Anabo, Billy Ray	6'2" (1.88m)	2nd	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
F	15	Quinday, Andro Gil	6'2" (1.88m)	1st	–
F	17	Aban, Aaron Abril	6'3" (1.91m)	2nd	Liceo de Cagayan University
F	18	Ebajay, Norman	6'2" (1.88m)	2nd	Liceo de Cagayan University

Head coach

Francisco Luis Alas

Team manager

Ramon Oben

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Depth chart[edit]

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Rodriguez	Reyes	Calindoy
PF	Pinera	Anabo	Ebajay
SF	Enrile	Aldave	Realista
SG	Aban	Santos	Quinday
PG	Bautista	Fedelicio	Balneg

NCAA Season 79 games results[edit]

Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on Studio 23.

Date	Time	Opponent	Venue	Result	Record
First round of eliminations
Jun 28	6:00 p.m.	Mapúa Cardinals	Araneta Coliseum • Quezon City	L 58–66	0–1
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 20
Jul 4	4:00 p.m.	San Beda Red Lions	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 69–63	1–1
Jul 9	2:00 p.m.	Benilde Blazers	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 77–75	2–1
Jul 14	4:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 73–64	3–1
Jul 16	4:00 p.m.	JRU Heavy Bombers	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	L 67–78	3–2
Jul 23	4:00 p.m.	Perpetual Altas	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 68–66	4–2
Jul 30	2:00 p.m.	PCU Dolphins	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 84–72	5–2
First place after 1st round (5 wins–2 losses)
Second round of eliminations
Aug 6	2:00 p.m.	Perpetual Altas	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 60–56	6–2
Aug 13	4:00 p.m.	Mapúa Cardinals	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	L 65–77	6–3
Aug 18	4:00 p.m.	San Beda Red Lions	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 76–65	7–3
Aug 22	4:00 p.m.	Benilde Blazers	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	L 72–90	7–4
Aug 27	4:00 p.m.	PCU Dolphins	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 94–90^OT	8–4
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 36; Rebounds: Enrile – 9; Assists: Enrile – 9
Aug 29	2:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	L 61–63	8–5
Sep 3	2:00 p.m.	JRU Heavy Bombers	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 80–78	9–5
Game Highs: Points: Aban – 20
First place at 9 wins–5 losses (4 wins–3 losses in the 2nd round)^[a]
Final Four^[b]
Sep 10	2:00 p.m.	Mapúa Cardinals	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 72–66	1–0 (10–5)
Letran wins series in one game
Finals
Sep 17	4:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	W 89–73	1–0 (11–5)
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 24
Sep 19	4:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Rizal Memorial Coliseum • Manila	L 77–85	1–1 (11–6)
Game Highs: Points: Enrile – 22
Sep 24	3:00 p.m.	San Sebastian Stags	Cuneta Astrodome • Pasay	W 64–59	2–1 (12–6)
Game Highs: Points: Bautista, Enrile – 19; Rebounds: Rodriguez – 14
Knights clinched 15th NCAA championship

Times listed above are in UTC+08:00

Source: ABS-CBN Pinoy Central

Notes:

^ Head-to-head record: Letran 1-1 San Sebastian; Letran +7
^ Letran held a twice-to-beat advantage over Mapúa

Awards[edit]

Player	Award
Ronjay Enrile	NCAA Finals Most Valuable Player
Ronjay Enrile	NCAA Mythical Five member

Injuries[edit]

Letran forward Aaron Aban suffered a deep cut on his left knee when he slammed into a rolltec advertising streamer during a match against CSB Blazers in the first round. Aban underwent surgery and needed a month to recuperate.^[8]

References[edit]

^ Navarro, June (June 28, 2003). "4 games usher 'NC'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ Atencio, Peter (September 3, 2003). "Letran Gets Twice-to-Beat Advantage". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ Navarro, June (September 4, 2003). "Knights emerge 2nd in Final 4". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ Atencio, Peter (September 10, 2003). "Arriba Letran Off To Finals". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ Villar, Joey (September 11, 2003). "Stags, Knights arrange NCAA title showdown". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Atencio, Peter (September 24, 2003). "Letran Knights Conquer 79th NCAA Championship!". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Rondez, Bobby (September 25, 2003). "Knights rule NCAA". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ Atencio, Peter (July 14, 2003). "The Knights Have Come". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on February 13, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2022.

[tie-8] Head-to-head record: Letran 1-1 San Sebastian; Letran +7

[semis-9] Letran held a twice-to-beat advantage over Mapúa

[1] Navarro, June (June 28, 2003). "4 games usher 'NC'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[2] Atencio, Peter (September 3, 2003). "Letran Gets Twice-to-Beat Advantage". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[3] Navarro, June (September 4, 2003). "Knights emerge 2nd in Final 4". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[4] Atencio, Peter (September 10, 2003). "Arriba Letran Off To Finals". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[5] Villar, Joey (September 11, 2003). "Stags, Knights arrange NCAA title showdown". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[:0-6] Atencio, Peter (September 24, 2003). "Letran Knights Conquer 79th NCAA Championship!". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on December 29, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[:1-7] Rondez, Bobby (September 25, 2003). "Knights rule NCAA". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[10] Atencio, Peter (July 14, 2003). "The Knights Have Come". ABS-CBN Pinoy Central. Archived from the original on February 13, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2022.

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