And then there were two.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran arranged a Finals clash with De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde after outdueling Lyceum of the Philippines University, 67-58, in the NCAA Season 98 Final Four on Tuesday.
Fran Yu led the way with 11 points while King Caralipio posted 10 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists for the Knights.
Letran, seeking to cop its third straight title, will meet Benilde on Sunday for Game 1 of the best-of-three championship round.
After carrying a slim 30-28 halftime lead, the Knights turned it up in the third quarter with back-to-back triples from Tommy Olivario sending Letran to 50-43 lead.
Enoch Valdez, who was already near a double-double mark at the half, then went for a bucket that saw the Pirates trail by just five at the end of the frame.
Five quick points from Caralipio and Kurt Reyson saw Letran zoom to a 55-50 lead before rookie Rafael Go made it a 58-52 spread following an exchange with Lyceum's Gyle Montaño.
A Shawn Umali split got Lyceum to within five, 60-55, but the Pirates hit a snag when the big man fouled with 1:50 left, leading to a split for Letran's Brent Paraiso, 63-55.
Paraiso knocked down another looper, 65-55, to virtually seal the deal with still 1:03 to go
Benilde has yet to win a single game against the Knight this season as the Muralla crew swept Benilde in their two elimination round meetings.
Valdez posted 15 points and 11 boards to lead the Pirates while Mclaude Guadaña added 14 markers.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
