LETRAN accomplished its first step towards completing a three-peat, advancing to the Final Four following a 84-77 romp of also-ran Emilio Aguinaldo College in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

King Caralipio dropped 12 of his 16 points in the payoff period as the Knights extended their season-high winning streak to nine and improve to 12-3 overall, but not surviving a tough Generals stand.

“First half, talagang nag-struggle kami sa offense namin at sa defense,” said Caralipio, who also grabbed 11 rebounds. “Kaya ang sabi namin sa dugout, kailangan namin na mas maging composed, kailangang maging doble ang effort para makuha ang panalo na ito.”

Trailing by eight after the first 10 minutes of play, EAC outscored Letran, 46-35, in the two middle quarters before the defending champions exploded for 24 points in the final period.

“Kasi noong first half, nag-tao sila sa amin tapos nag-adjust sila, nag-sona kaya doon kami nahirapan. Kaya hindi kami maka-convert ng offense namin,” said Caralipio. “Tapos noong second half naman, nag-adjust naman kami sa ginawa nila. Nag-adjust din kami para maka-convert sa offense namin.”

Later, San Beda bundled out last season’s runner-up Mapua from Final Four contention with a 71-63 victory.

Back in the Final Four for the third straight season, the Knights overcame the sudden departure of MVP Rhenz Abando and an early season rough patch, where Louie Sangalang and Brent Paraiso was suspended for two games.

Kurt Reyson added 14 points, five assists and four boards, while Fran Yu had 10 points, five steals, five assists and three boards for Letran. Sangalang was the other player who scored in double digits for the Knights with 10 points.

James Kwekuteye flirted with his career-high, dropping 25 points as the Red Lions moved up to 10-5.

The victory allowed San Beda to level with idle Lyceum of the Philippines University in third place, trailing second-running College of Saint Benilde (10-4) by just half-a-game in the twice-to-beat Final Four incentive chase.

Warren Bonifacio had 21 points and seven rebounds to pace the Cardinals, who bowed out with their 10th defeat in 16 contests. Mapua’s loss also eliminated Arellano University and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, both a 6-9, from the Final Four hunt.

Nat Cosejo led the Generals with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Joshua Tolentino chipped in 17 points, while JC Luciano had a double-double outing of 16 points and 12 boards.

EAC, which missed the services of Allen Liwag (injury), JP Maguliano and Ralph Bajon (health and safety protocols), suffered its league-worst 14th loss in 16 games.

The scores:

First game

Letran (84) — Caralipio 16, Reyson 14, Sangalang 10, Yu 10, Paraiso 8, Tolentino 7, Javillonar 5, Santos 4, Ariar 3, Olivario 3, Go 2, Monje 2, Guarino 0.
EAC (77) — Cosejo 21, Tolentino 17, Luciano 16, Dominguez 10, An. Doria 4, Quinal 4, Ad. Doria 3, Balowa 2, Angeles 0.
Quarterscores: 25-17, 38-41, 60-63, 84-77

Second game

San Beda (71) — Kwekuteye 25, Sanchez 11, Ynot 9, Andrada 7, Cortez 5, Cuntapay 5, Visser 4, Bahio 2, Cometa 2, Alfaro 1, Payosing 0, Penuela 0.
Mapua (63) — Bonifacio 21, Pido 13, Hernandez 12, Nocum 7, Salenga 4, Mercado 2, Cuenco 2, Soriano 2, Garcia 0, Agustin 0, Lacap 0.
Quarterscores: 19-16, 39-34, 52-45, 71-63.