FRAN Yu was the motor that kept Letran going as it ruined archrival San Beda's quest for a perfect season and endangered the Red Lions' bid for a rare four-peat in one blow.
The Knights dug deep and pulled off a gutsy 65-64 victory over the Red Lions in Game One of the NCAA Season 95 Finals on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena and moved within a win of completing the mother of all upsets.
Yu, voted the season's Most Improved Player, led the Knights with 10 points, six assists, three steals, and three rebounds, none bigger than his defensive board off a missed three-pointer by Calvin Oftana in the thrilling endgame.
Although Yu missed both his free throws with 2.4 seconds left, the last done deliberately, Larry Muyang tapped the rebound out of the Red Lions' grasp as time expired, sealing the Knights' first win over San Beda since 2015.
Incidentally, that 2015 win also marked the last time the Knights won the championship.
By dealing the Red Lions their first loss of the season, the Knights moved a win away from an unlikely championship, which they can clinch in Game Two on Wednesday, also at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Bonbon Batiller topscored for the Knights with 12 points to go with five boards, and two assists. Jerrick Balanza added 10 points and four rebounds, while Jeo Ambohot got nine points, four boards, and two blocks.
"One game pa lang naman, pero we are happy with this one. Eighteen-zero sila so it took hard work to beat that kind of team," attested coach Bonnie Tan.
Muyang seemed to have put the game away with a big conversion on an alley-oop connection from Yu that made it a 65-62 lead for Letran.
But San Beda kept up the pressure, grabbing crucial offensive rebounds that led to Nelle slicing the lead down to one with 37.5 seconds left.
The Red Lions were able to pull a stop after Oftana blocked Ambohot's baseline jumper to force a 24-second shot clock violation, but the Season MVP was unable to score the game-winning three.
Nelle led San Beda with 20 points and seven rebounds, but was limited to just one assist after being the league's leader in that department all season.
Canlas added 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Oftana was held to 11 points and six boards as they saw the end of its 32-game win streak dating back to the first round last season.
Donald Tankoua also had seven points, 13 rebounds, and two assists for the Red Lions, who, after gaining an outright spot in the finals, had to wait for 27 days while the three other teams went through a stepladder phase in the semifinals.
The scores:
LETRAN 65 - Batiller 12, Balanza 10, Yu 10, Ambohot 9, Muyang 7, Reyson 7, Mina 3, Ular 3, Caralipio 2, Sangalang 2, Balagasay 0, Olivario 0.
SAN BEDA 64 - Nelle 20, Canlas 11, Oftana 11, Tankoua 7, Soberano 6, Bahio 4, Doliguez 3, Etrata 2, Abuda 0, Cuntapay 0, Alfaro 0.
Quarters: 17-18, 28-32, 47-44, 65-64.
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