IT’S all or nothing for San Beda University and Letran in the winner-take-all Game Three on Tuesday of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 Finals that swung like a pendulum in classic fashion.
The no-tomorrow showdown starts at 4 p.m. at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
On one side of the court are the defending champion Red Lions, who hung tough with a 79-76 Game Two win made possible by season MVP Calvin Oftana.
On the other side are the Knights, who opened the series with a close 65-64 Game One victory and are hoping to repeat over the same team which they denied of a championship streak in 2015.
The Red Lions are gunning for a record 23rd crown while the Knights are seeking to raise championship banner No. 18.
This is the fourth straight time that the San Beda-Letran Finals have gone the distance. The Red Lions won deciding games in 2012 and 2013, while the Knights emerged triumphant in 2015 in a classic Game Three that went into overtime.
In Game Two, Oftana played hero by completing a three-point play for a 77-76 San Beda lead with 19.1 seconds left.
Letran tried to complete another storybook season, but Bonbon Batiller bungled a potential championship-clinching lay-up in the dying seconds.
Clinching a morale-boosting win, Coach Boyet Fernandez hopes his squad will use their Game Two win as fuel for their championship drive.
“I hope we sustain this one. Playing a tough team like Letran will be hard for us but, again, I do thank my players, thank the Lord for this,” Fernandez said.
The Lions got a huge break late in the game when Fran Yu, who looked unstoppable in the semifinals and, in the championship round, suffered cramps.
But Yu should be in better shape for Game Three.
“No one really expected us to be here and go toe-to-toe with them [Red Lions] and also give them their first loss after 32 victories,” said Letran’s Bonnie Tan, who is in his very first Finals as head coach.
San Beda and Lyceum of the Philippines University, meanwhile, dispute the juniors title at 1 p.m.