AFTER SIX YEARS, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is blessed with another showdown of the league’s most storied rivals on the biggest stage of Philippine collegiate basketball.
With another chapter of the San Beda-Letran rivalry set to be written in Season 101, let’s revisit the history of finals showdowns between the NCAA’s grandest squads.
Pre-Final Four era
Before the decade-defining San Beda-Ateneo rivalry of the 1950s, the Red Lions opened the decade with a finals match-up against the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Knights.
Led by “The Big Difference” Carlos Loyzaga in his first year with the Red Lions, San Beda prevented a Letran championship via a season sweep and forced a finals series between the Mendiola and Muralla squads.
Letran, dubbed “Murder Inc.” due to their ruthless style of basketball, avenged their early-season loss to San Beda and clinched their second NCAA title.
The decade of San Beda dominance in the 1950s, which saw the Red Lions secure the historic Zamora Cup, died down around the peak of Letran’s emergence as a powerhouse of NCAA basketball in the 1970s-1980s.
By the end of the pre-final four era, San Beda bore 11 championships, while Letran became the winningest program of the NCAA with 12 titles to their name.
Final Four era
In the NCAA’s transition to the Final Four format, Letran has consistently etched its name at the top of the NCAA, while the Red Lions entered with a championship drought that lasted for two decades.
Letran’s winning basketball culture continued into the early years of the Final Four era, adding four championships to increase its championship total to 16 by 2005 in Season 81.
The following season saw San Beda end its 28-year title drought, starting one of the greatest dynasties in Philippine collegiate sports.
Season 83 delivered what many hailed as “the dream finals,” as both legacy members clashed for the championship. The Red Lions claimed its second straight title in a 2-0 finals sweep over the Letran Knights, with Rogemar “Ogie” Menor becoming the series’ Most Valuable Player (MVP).
San Beda and Letran met once more in the Finals of Season 88 in 2012, with San Beda claiming the championship in a three-game series that saw Baser Amer crowned as Finals MVP.
The following 2013 Season 89 Finals witnessed a repeat of the San Beda-Letran matchup. Battling in another three-game series, the San Beda Red Lions edged Letran with a 60-56 game three victory that saw Arthur dela Cruz named as Finals MVP and San Beda complete its quest for a four-peat.
Holding a 3-0 finals record over Letran in the final four era, the Red Lions and Knights met again in Season 91 in 2015. Following the trend of previous matchups, the three-game series saw Letran end its 10-year title drought in a 85-82 game three overtime victory, where Mark Cruz was named Finals MVP.
Letran’s Season 91 championship also ended the Red Lions’ attempt for a historic six-peat in collegiate basketball.
Both squads last met in the finals in Season 95 in 2019. Following a Letran stepladder elimination run due to San Beda sweeping the elimination round, San Beda and Letran faced off in the most high-stakes finals to date.
The series reached three games, where the Fran Yu-led Letran Knights won the basketball crown in a narrow 81-79 victory. The series saw Fran Yu crowned as Finals MVP and ended the four-peat and perfect season hunt of the Red Lions.
Season 101
In a turbulent season for both squads, the old rivals meet again on the grandest stage. After a 0-3 start for Letran, the Knights overcame a twice-to-win situation against the Arellano University (AU) Chiefs, and swept the semis series against the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD) Altas.
The Red Lions ended the classification round as the top team of Group B, eliminating the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Pirates in the quarterfinals and edging out the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Blazers in three games in the semis.
Splitting both matchups in Group B of the classification round, the Red Lions and Knights are poised to add on to the rivalry intensity that previous meetings in the finals have shown.
Individual matchups add fuel to the fire heading into the finals contest. Rookie of the Year and MVP candidates Agjanti Miller from San Beda and Jonathan “Titing” Manalili of Letran personify the championship aspirations of both schools.
With San Beda leading the head-to-head record in finals games against Letran, 10-7. San Beda also edges out Letran in championship matchups with a 3-2 record in the final four era.
This finals series sees two of the winningest squads in the NCAA seek to solidify their place in Philippine basketball’s hierarchy. San Beda currently stands on top with 23 championships, while Letran sits at second with 20 championships to its name.
The first game of the Season 101 finals is set for December 10, 2:00 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game two of the finals is scheduled on December 13, 2:00 p.m. at the same venue. While the third game is set for December 16 at the same time and venue, if necessary.
As the first game of what is expected to be another rivalry classic draws near, San Beda vs. Letran is promised to be a renewal of the NCAA’s greatest rivalry for the current generation of Bedans, Letranites, and fans of Philippine basketball.