The last time Colegio de San Juan de Letran achieved three consecutive titles was 38 years ago, back when Samboy Lim was still the cornerstone of the Knights' squad in the NCAA.
Lim, who went on to become one of the country's iconic basketball legends, steered Letran to a three-peat feat from 1982 to 1984. But while the Muralla crew was able to cop 10 more titles after that, a second three-peat had proved elusive for the school.
Fast forward to the present, Letran is now on the verge of clinching that very same triumph after defeating De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Game 1 of their best-of-three title showdown in Season 98.
But current head coach Bonnie Tan stressed that the players shouldn't feel pressure to repeat what Lim and that Letran batch had pulled off more than three decades ago.
"For three-peat, we never talk about that. We just do one game at a time. Three-peat is just a bonus. Baka lalo pa tayo ma-pressure 'pag kinompare pa natin sa previous years nila Samboy Lim," said Tan.
"'Di naman namin kailangan i-duplicate, [we will] just handle our own business."
Game 2 will be played next Sunday with Letran having a chance to close the series out.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
