NCAA Season 98 basketball competition now down to a battle of four

The College of Saint Benilde Blazers are back in the NCAA Final Four after two decades. (GMA Sports PH Facebook page)

Following two and a half months of elimination play, competition in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 98 men’s basketball picks up further with the Final Four beginning Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Started with a full complement of 10 competing teams, it is now down to four squads, which are all angling to go deeper still in the season and vie for the coveted NCAA title.

Left to fight it out are the top seeds College of Saint Benilde Blazers, defending champions Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates and San Beda University Red Lions.

Saint Benilde (14–4) and Letran (13–5), as the top two seeds after the eliminations, earned the twice-to-beat advantage over San Beda (12–6) and Lyceum (12–6), respectively, in their Final Four pairing.

The Charles Tiu-coached Blazers are making a return to the NCAA Final Four after two decades.

They have been the steadiest team in the ongoing tournament, led by presumptive season most valuable player winner Will Gozum, who averaged a league-leading 17.17 points to go along with 9.61 rebounds and 1.11 blocks in 18 games in the elimination round.

The team finished the two-round elimination phase strong, winning four straight, the last one against semifinal opponent San Beda, 82–73, on Nov. 22.

“It feels great to be in the Final Four. It’s about time. I hope we can still go farther,” Coach Tiu of the team being back in the Final Four after a long time.

Letran, for its part, has had it roller-coaster in its quest for a third straight NCAA title.

It started the season shaky, going 3–3 in its first six games, before steadying the ship with nine straight victories with its balanced attack that firmed up Letran’s spot among the top teams.

The Letran Knights are gunning for their third straight NCAA title. (GMA Sports PH Facebook page)

The Knights though went 1–2 in their last three games, something they hope to address and make up for in the semifinals.

“We somehow relaxed [in the end]. Hopefully we get to recover come the Final Four,” said Letran coach Bonnie Tan.

Lyceum, meanwhile, hit a rough patch midseason but it did not prevent the team from returning to the Final Four after missing the cut last season.

Under the stewardship of first-year coach Gilbert Malabanan, the Pirates turned to grit and balanced attack to overcome the tough challenge from the opposing teams, something the team is very proud of, considering it only won two games out of nine in the shortened Season 97.

After missing the Final Four last season, the Lyceum Pirates are back as the third seeds in the semifinals this year. (GMA Sports PH Facebook page)

“I’m so proud of the way we have performed. We just trusted the players to give their all each time,” Malabanan said.

For San Beda, the first season under coach Yuri Escueta has been a challenging one but it has been resilient and has rewarded it with another Final Four appearance.

James Kwetkuteye has been leading the charge for the Red Lions this season with a 15.61 points per game average while also getting support from the likes of Damie Cuntapay, Yukien Andrada and JB Bahio.

James Kwetkuteye and the San Beda Red Lions look to overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage in the Final Four of NCAA Season 98. (GMA Sports PH Facebook page)

Escueta highlighted the need for his team to continue working and not letting its guard down if it is to overcome the twice-to-win disadvantage it has in the semifinals.

“One game at a time for us. We have to continue working,” he said.

The two teams coming out on top of the Final Four will battle in a best-of-three finals after.

The NCAA Final Four games will be played at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The first game will have the Saint Benilde and San Beda playing at 12 noon followed by the Letran-Lyceum tiff at 3 p.m. If necessary, the second game of the series will be at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Dec. 2. The games are broadcast over GTV.