Letran star Fran Yu leads Knights’ 2nd-round charge, wins Player of the Week

MANILA, Philippines – After a rocky start to its NCAA title three-peat drive, the Letran Knights have now ascended to the solo second spot in the Season 98 men’s basketball tournament, and it is all thanks to an old reliable in graduating star Fran Yu.

After Letran absorbed three tough losses against Arellano, surprise contender Lyceum, and rival San Beda to close out the first round with a 6-3 record, the 5-foot-10 playmaker made sure that the Knights got their groove back in the second, where they have yet to lose in three games.

In that span, Yu averaged a well-rounded 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in wins over Perpetual, Arellano, and San Sebastian. 

His best game so far was against the Stags, where he detonated for 19 points, all in the second half, to go along with 5 boards, 2 blocks, and 1 assist as they cruised to their sixth straight win.

His impressive numbers were more than enough to get the nod from the Collegiate Press Corps as the NCAA Player of the Week presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and San Miguel Corporation.

Yu bested his Letran backcourt mate Brent Paraiso, Perpetual’s John Abis, and CSB’s Will Gozum and Miggy Corteza for the weekly honor decided and deliberated upon by print and online media regularly covering the league, and also supported by minor sponsors MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey.

“As a player, I’m not an individual player, that’s why we’re a team. I’m not looking for individual awards, those are just blessings. What’s important is we get the three-peat,” Yu said in Filipino.

The Tondo-born star, who became the first Knight to emerge as Player of the Week this season, was also praised by head coach Bonnie Tan.

“Fran Yu is really a point guard and facilitator. As you can see in the second half, we were struggling to score, so that’s where he delivered,” said the multi-titled coach. – Rappler.com