Defending champion Letran College is appealing to the National Collegiate Athletic Association to reconsider its suspension of Fran Yu so that he can suit up in Game 3 of their best-of-three finals series against College of Saint Benilde on Sunday.
Knights assistant coach Jaren Jarencio said during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association that athletics director Fr. Victor Calvo has submitted a letter of appeal after NCAA commissioner Tonichi Pujante made the suspension official.
Yu was slapped with a one-game ban after elbowing College of Saint Benilde’s Mark Sangco in the second quarter of Game 2 last Sunday.
That move forced officials to throw him out of the court, giving the Blazers an opening en route to a series-tying 76-71 victory to forge a winner-take-all Game 3 in Season 98.
The point guard from Tondo, Manila won’t be even allowed to enter the Ynares Center in Antipolo City and won’t be able to celebrate with the team inside the court if they capture the elusive three-peat.
“Father Vic sent a letter of appeal for Fran Yu. Hopefully, it will be lifted so that in Game 3, both teams will be complete,” Jarencio said.
“For me, the letter sent so that both teams will be complete and see how the finals will go down.”
Yu’s absence is sure to affect Letran’s bid to score a three-peat.
The 24-year-old playmaker was integral to the Knights’ NCAA Season 95 title run.
The team played three games to win over rival San Beda University in 2019 and Yu was even hailed as the Finals Most Valuable Player.
Should the appeal be successful, Letran will be marching into the all-important game at full strength with Kobe Monje and Kyle Tolentino returning after serving their one-game suspensions.
But if the suspension stands, the Knights would still have a handful of veterans led by Mythical Team member King Caralipio, Brent Paraiso, Louie Sangalang, Pao Javillonar and Tommy Olivario.
Jarencio said Yu is still helping out with the team in the scouting department despite possibly not seeing action on Sunday.
He also said this is their hardest road to the title should they complete the three-peat, something the Knights haven’t done since Samboy Lim played in 1984.
“Fran will be part of the scouting team because we don’t want him to be absent from our training. He’s still our captain ball and our leader,” Jarencio said.
“If Fran won’t be able to play and we win in Game 3, this will be our hardest win yet.”
