The College of St. Benilde Blazers nipped the San Beda Red Lions, 62-61, to advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time in 20 years. Meanwhile, the Letran Knights outclassed the Lyceum Pirates to book the remaining ticket to the championship.
Benilde 62 - 61 San Beda
Miguel Oczon topscored for the Blazers with 17 points while grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing an assist, and recording a steal. Pames Pasturan and Will Gozum were the other Blazers who scored in double digits with 16 and 10 points respectively.Jacob Cortez and James Kwekuteye carried the offensive load for the San Beda Red Lions with 13 and 11 points respectively. The Red Lions will miss anew the Finals for the 2nd year in a row.
Miguel Oczon and Jimboy Pasturan were selected as the best players of the game.
Benilde 62: Oczon 17, Pasturan 16, Gozum 10, Nayve 8, Corteza 7, Sangco 4, Cullar 0, Carlos 0, Lepalam 0, Marcos 0, Lim 0.
San Beda 61: Cortez 13, Kwekuteye 11, Bahio 9, Sanchez 8, Ynot 6, Cuntapay 4, Andrada 3, Cometa 3, Alfaro 2, Vaser 2, Payosing 0.
Letran 67 - 58 LPU
The Letran Knights will advance to the NCAA finals for the third time in a row. They only need to beat the Benilde Blazers to hoist their 3rd consecutive championship trophy.
King Caralipio was the best player of the game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. Meanwhile, Louie Sangalang contributed 9 points and 7 boards for the defending champions. His teammate Fran Yu orchestrated a balanced attack from the Knights as he scored 11 points.
Enoch Valdez towed the Lyceum Pirates with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with an assist, a steal and a block. Mclaude Guadana spread 14 points of his own plus 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block but his efforts were not enough to save championship hopes of the Pirates.
Box Score
Letran 67: Yu 11, Caralipio 10, Sangalang 9, Paraiso 9, Javillonar 8, Reyson 7, Olivario 6, Monje 4, Go 3, Ariar 0, Guarino 0.
Lyceum 58: Valdez 15, Guadana 14, Bravo 6, Larupay 6, Montano 5, Umali 3, Penafiel 3, Navarro 2, Barba 2, Villegas 1, Vinoya 1, Cunanan 0.