COLLEGE of Saint Benilde and Letran quickly disposed their respective Final Four foes to arrange a championship showdown in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The Blazers reached the Finals for the first time in 20 years after completing a season sweep of San Beda, 62-61, while the Knights kept their three-peat hopes alive with a 67-58 victory over Lyceum of the Philippines University.

Benilde, which last trooped to the league’s biggest stage in 2002, where it fell to San Sebastian, and Letran open their best-of-three title series on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The fastest team to win a NCAA crown in 2000, the Blazers are determined to regain lost glory.

“Ang goal namin simula sa reserve hanggang starter is gusto naming mag-champion. Sobrang happy namin,” said Benilde captain Will Gozum.

“20 years before mag-Finals tapos nandito ulit kami. Yung mga nauna sa amin, para sa kanila itong Finals na ito.”

After their most recent championship appearance, the Blazers have fallen into hard times as the Taft-based squad even had a one-win season in 2016.

It was former coach TY Tang who rebuilt Benilde from there, and the current mentor Charles Tiu made the team a contender.

Migs Oczon led all scorers with 17 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw stripe, Jimboy Pasturan added 16 points, while Will Gozum contributed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers.

Oczon’s composure from the foul line gave Benilde a 62-59 lead with 13.7 seconds remaining.

The Red Lions tried to turn things around, but James Kwekuteye squandered two chances to tie the game, and Damie Cuntapay scored a putback as time expired for the final score.

For the second consecutive season, San Beda, a dominant force from 2006 until the past decade, missed the Finals.

While the Red Lions are off for vacation, the Knights are two wins away from being the league’s new dynasty.

Brent Paraiso put the game to bed with a floater, giving Letran a 65-55 advantage with 1:03 left.

The Blazers went 0-2 against Knights this season.

Fran Yu led the way for Letran with 11 points while King Caralipio posted 10 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists for the Knights.

The scores:

First Game

Benilde (62) — Oczon 17, Pasturan 16, Gozum 10, Nayve 8, Corteza 7, Sangco 4, Cullar 0, Carlos 0, Marcos 0, Lepalam 0, Lim 0.
San Beda (61) — Cortez 13, Kwekuteye 11, Bahio 9, Sanchez 8, Ynot 6, Cuntapay 4, Andrada 3, Cometa 3, Alfaro 2, Visser 2, Payosing 0.
Quarterscores: 19-14, 34-31, 54-48, 62-61

Second Game

Letran (67) — Yu 11, Caralipio 10, Paraiso 9, Sangalang 9, Javillonar 8, Reyson 7, Olivario 6, Monje 4, Go 3, Ariar 0, Guarino 0.
LPU (58) — Valdez 15, Guadaña 14, Bravo 6, Larupay 6, Montaño 5, Umali 3, Peñafiel 3, Navarro 2, Barba 2, Vinoya 1, Villegas 1, Cunanan 0.
Quarterscores: 13-17, 30-28, 50-45, 67-58.