They say a great team needs a great counterpart to show fully why and how they’re great. They will bleed for opportunities, and grind the very best out of each other. 

San Beda and Letran’s Season 101 finale isn’t just a renewed rivalry. It’s a battle between two greats, and the two best in Season 101. 

OFFENSIVE-MINDED 

On top of the fact that they’ve outlasted everyone else on their way to the NCAA’s grandest stage, San Beda and Letran are neck-and-neck with each other in terms of offensive firepower, as the stat sheets suggest. 

They score the most points on a per-game basis. San Beda’s 79.06 points per contest leads the NCAA, while Letran sits in second with 78.80 PPG. 

Two respective offensive-minded duos supercharge these teams’ potent scoring capabilities. San Beda’s Janti Miller and Bryan Sajonia, and Letran’s Jimboy Estrada and Jonathan Manalili, are all top ten scorers in Season 101. 

Miller– this year’s undisputed scoring champion– fronts the pack with a league-leading 20.63 PPG, while veteran Sajonia is ninth on the list (13.29 PPG).

Save for the low-frequency but timely eruptions of team captain Yukien Andrada, Miller and Sajonia have been the clearcut go-to offensive weapons of Coach Yuri Escueta, consistently trading game-high outputs throughout the season. 

Letran, meanwhile, will bank on the prolific duo of Estrada and Manalili, who’s averaging 14.31 and 13.65 PPG good for third and sixth in the league, respectively. 

Their dynamic partnership has been the focal point of Coach Allen Ricardo’s offensive sets, and has ignited what once was a sparkless Season 101 start. 

The Red Lions and the Knights are also the two best teams in terms of 3-point efficiency. Letran is no. 1 with a 29.26% clip from beyond the arc, trailed closely by San Beda’s 28.72%. 

Their designated shooters beef up these numbers. Graduating captain Andrada tops the league in three-point makes per game (2.53), converting at an impressive 36.51% which is the league’s fourth-best record. Miller, meanwhile, shoots 1.81 threes per game good for 8th overall.

As for Letran, sharpshooting senior Deo Cuajao is fourth on the list with 2.13 triples per contest, while youngster Chad Gammad has emerged as the Knights’ most efficient three-point specialist with a 40.32% average– 2nd overall in the NCAA. Estrada’s 36.51% clip sits in third. 

San Beda is the best in perimeter shooting, averaging 34.3 PPG from that area which accounts for 43.37% of their total scoring output per game. Letran, on the flip side, is the 2nd best defender of that region by limiting their opponents to an average of 25.25 perimeter points. 

REBOUNDS, ASSISTS, TURNOVERS

San Beda is the best rebounding team in Season 101 with 47 boards per game. 

While the Red Lions do not boast double-digit rebounding machines who are emphatically monstrous on the glass, their lineup is full of hardworking board crashers whose bread-and-butter is nose for the ball. 

Joe Celzo averages 6.12 rebounds while only playing 18 minutes a game, while Zed Etulle grabs 5 in every 16 minutes of playing time. Miller averages 6.25, Jomel Puno 6.0. 

San Beda’s rebounding will be pivotal in dictating the pace of the game, especially when you compare their output to Letran’s league-worst 40.18 RPG.

The Knights, on the other hand, are the most generous team in sharing the basketball. 

They are number one in assists per game with 19.2, which means they convert at least 38.4 points per game off a pass. They produce almost half of their total scoring output (48.7%) from an assist, giving up good shots for better ones. 

They are led by Cebuano rookie Titing Manalili, who by leaps and bounds has become the best passer in the NCAA with a 9.35-assist average.

San Beda is ninth in assists per game with only 14.0.

DEADLOCK AT 1-1 

San Beda and Letran– bracketmates in Group B– met each other twice in the elimination round, splitting the wins. 

San Beda won the first fight, which took place very early in the season on October 5, 2025. 

Both squads were only a game into their Season 101 campaigns, as the then 1-0 Red Lions charged into a 68-58 victory against the 0-1 Knights. 

Miller was a walking bucket for San Beda during the win despite coming off the bench. He finished with 22 points on 57% field goal shooting alongside 5 rebounds and 2 assists in only 25 minutes of play. 

Sajonia added 11 markers, but secured all-around contributions from San Beda’s strong supporting cast. 

The October 5 loss marked one of the few early season jitters that the Letran Knights eventually overcame. 

Rookie phenom Manalili top-scored with 13, but showed clear signs of struggle in finding his shots as he finished with 5/16 (31.3%) from the field. He laced it with 2 rebounds and dished only 6 assists– far from his 9.4 season average.

More than a month later, Manalili and company were able to exact revenge with an 87-83 come-from-behind win, which took place on November 23. 

The Knights were trailing by 13 at some point in the third quarter, but carved their way back into the game behind Manalili, Santos, and Roque’s late game explosion.

Manalili dropped a highlight-laden double-double of 26 points and 11 assists with 4 rebounds and 2 steals to pave the road for Letran’s emphatic revenge win, while graduating center Kevin Santos added 14 and 6 in the cause. 

Despite the loss, Miller was the scoring machine that he always was, tallying a game-high 34 points with 5 rebounds and an assist. 

Sajonia’s absence was consequential in the defeat, as Jimmy Reyes and company had to make up for his scoring production sans Miller. 

HISTORIC RIVALRY 

The NCAA Season 101’s men’s basketball finals between San Beda University and Colegio de San Juan de Letran isn’t just a poetic rivalry. It’s a fitting clash between the most prolific teams this season, and two of the best all-time. 

San Beda– a proven dynasty with a record 23 NCAA titles– is gunning for its second championship in three years, while Letran– boasting 20 golden trophies under its belt– wants to return to its championship ways after a three-year Final Four hiatus.

Game 1 of the historic NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball rivalry starts tomorrow, December 10, 2:00 PM at the Araneta Coliseum.