MANILA, Philippines - The best of the season dispute who’s better in what looms to be a slambang encounter between the league’s winningest teams in the opener of the 91st NCAA men’s basketball finals at the MOA Arena today.
San Beda is out to re-assert its mastery over Letran as it shoots for a record sixth straight championship but the Knights are hungry for a payback with a fired-up crew raring to prove their worth.
“We’re not contented to just be in the finals. We want to win and beat San Beda,” said Letran coach Aldin Ayo.
San Beda and Letran finished tied for first after splitting their matches in the double-round elims. But the Red Lions beat the Knights in a playoff for the top spot in the Final Four.
The Lions then thumped the Jose Rizal U Bombers, 78-68, while the Knights wore down the Mapua Cardinals, 91-90, in the semis to seal another title clash, their third in the last four years.
But San Beda nipped Letran in sudden death twice in 2012 and 2013 then overwhelmed Arellano last year to complete a five-peat and a league record 19 titles, three more than the Muralla-based school.