San Beda University finally ended a three-year win drought in their head-to-head rivalry against Colegio de San Juan de Letran, erasing a huge deficit en route to a 76-68 victory in the NCAA Season 98 on Friday.
The win allowed San Beda to pick up its first win against Letran for the first time since Game 2 of their Season 95 finals duel back in 2019.
San Beda also made it back-to-back victories and tied Letran in the Season 98 standings, with both at 3-2.
James Kwekuteye starred for the Red Lions with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists while JB Bahio also had a huge game with 16 points and 13 boards.
Letran established their early lead thanks to nine triples in the first quarter alone, four of those coming from Fran Yu, as the Knights raced out to a 17-point lead, 33-16, at the end of the opening period.
It didn't take long, though, before the Red Lions roared back into the game.
The Mendiola crew outscored Letran, 26 to 10, to trail by just one at the halftime, 43-42, with veterans Kwekuteye, Bahio, and Peter Alfaro leading the pack.
San Beda continued its momentum in the third as they retook the lead, 52-51, after Jacob Cortez completed a layup en route to a 57-55 cushion at the end of the frame.
Letran's Kurt Reyson, who exploded for 12 points in the first half, knocked down back-to-back triples for a 66-65 spread in the fourth quarter before Bahio sent San Beda ahead with a 72-68 lead with 2:18 left.
A finish from Alfaro then sealed the hard-fought victory for San Beda.
Reyson scored 20 points, including six triples, to lead Letran while Yu and King Caralipio finished with 17 apiece.
The Knights scored 33 points in the first quarter but managed only 35 the rest of the way, never scoring more than 13 points in any of the next three periods.
They shot 9-for-13 (69.2-percent) from three-point range but only made four of their next 20 attempts the rest of the way.
The scores:
San Beda 76 - Kwekuteye 17, Bahio 16, Alfaro 13, Ynot 7, Visser 6, Cortez 5, Cuntapay 5, Andrada 5, Jopia 2, Cometa 0, Tagala 0.
Letran 68 - Reyson 20, Caralipio 17, Yu 17, Javillonar 8, Monje 4, Olivario 2, Santos 0, Tolentino 0, Guarino 0, Miclat 0.
Quarters: 16-33, 42-43, 57-55, 76-68.
—JMB, GMA News
