Defending champion Letran College and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta are going to dispute the National Collegiate Athletic Association juniors basketball crown.
The Junior Altas scored a breakthrough 96-91 win over Mapua University in their Final Four match to enter the championship picture for the first time.
Pursuing the job of repeating as titleholder will be Letran, which flexed just enough muscle to dispatch San Sebastian College, 91-77, in their own Final Four encounter at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
With 30.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Aries Borja calmly sank his two free throws to increase Perpetual’s lead to seven, 94-87.
Then, Jan Roluna, who tallied a career-high 22 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals, iced the game with 5.7 seconds left in the game, firing in two more points, 96-91.
Also making an impact for Perpetual was Lebron Daep with 22 pts, six boards, three assists and two blocks, while Season 99 Most Valuable Player frontrunner Amiel Acido made 20 points, grabbed six boards, five assists and a steal.
Game 1 of the best-of-three series takes place 16 March.
While the Junior Altas had to go the extra mile in pulling the plug on the Red Robons’ bid, the Squires easily secured their place in the race-to-two affair.
Jonathan Manalili, a vital cog in Letran’s title run last year, delivered a double-double performance of 19 points and 10 assists to send the Staglets packing.
Jolo Navarro, who wound up with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and George Diamante, who also had a double-double posting of 13 points and hauling 12 rebounds, were the other key contributors to Letran’s title-retention quest.
