Letran shut the final four door on College of St. Benilde with a 64-57 victory on Wednesday to end its season on a bright note in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
Reneford Ruaya and Jamil Gabawan played their last games for Letran and led the Knights with 14 and 13 points, respectively, to go out with something to remember.
"This win is for my graduating players, Gabawan and Ruaya," said Letran coach Caloy Garcia.
While denying the Blazers a playoff for a final four spot, the Knights also gave the Perpetual Help Altas a semis berth on a silver platter.
St. Benilde wound up fifth with an 11-7 record.
Arellano University, San Beda and Jose Rizal comprise the other Final Four qualifiers.
The Blazers slid to fifth place with an 11-7 mark.
Trailing by as much as 17 points, the Blazers clawed their way back behind the high-scoring duo of Mark Romero and Juan Paolo Taha.
Romero's free throws with over a minute to go cut St. Benilde's deficit to just two points, 57-59, but it turned out their last hurrah as Rey Nambatac, Cruz and Rey Publico combined for all of Letran's last five points to shut the door on the former.
In the second game, Lyceum tripped league-leading Arellano, preventing the Chiefs from securing the top seed with a 101-96 result.
The loss relegated Arellano to a tie for the top spot, leading to a playoff between the two teams on Friday. Jose Rizal University and Perpetual will also square off for the third seed on Friday. — Photos by Jeff Venancio
