Marata, Lanete named as week's top collegiate cagers

Updated 6:20 p.m. Two players who came from basketball-oriented families unleashed their firepower and towed their respective teams to victories in the UAAP and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments. Samuel Joseph Marata, nephew of the late Ric-Ric Marata, and Garvo Lanete, younger brother of PBA guard Chico Lanete, were the hands down choice for Players of the Week by the scribes covering the country’s premier collegiate games. The younger Marata tore a page from his uncle’s gun-slinging ways in the Philippine Basketball Association as he kept his La Salle Archers on target to shoot down archrival and two-time defending champion Ateneo Eagles, 66-63, in their teams’ first encounter in the UAAP this season. Samuel connected on all his four three-point attempts, including two inside the final minute, as the Archers completed a dramatic come-from-behind victory. With Marata hitting the lights out, La Salle was able to snap a six-game losing skein against Ateneo dating back 2008. "I think it was him," said Marata, referring to his uncle regarded as one of the best shooters in the history of local basketball. "Maybe, he guided those shots, that's why it went in." Lanete, on the other hamd, emerged as the new main gunner of San Beda. Lanete affirmed the role as his team’s top gun and propelled his squad to four straight victories. The Lions’ sizzling performance catapulted them on top of the standings alongside defending champion San Sebastian Stags. Against San Beda’s 77-60 win over fierce rival Letran, Lanete best typified the role of go-to-guy. He knocked in 22 points, highlighted by three triples, as the Lions pulled away and didn’t look back. His impressive show was more than enough to earn the scribes’ nod and become the NCAA Pres Corps Player of the Week. “He plays good and knows when to step up. He can deliver big shots at any given time, that’s how good this kid is," said San Beda coach Frankie Lim, whose squad beat Letran for the eighth consecutive time dating back 2007.- RCJ, GMANews.TV