Second seeds Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Arellano University pulled off semifinal upsets in the NCAA Season 101 Juniors Basketball Tournament to set up a championship showdown on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Squires handled business first, eliminating the Emilio Aguinaldo College–Immaculate Conception Academy Brigadiers, 77-68, while the Braves survived a grueling double-overtime thriller, 109-107, against the Malayan High School Red Robins in the deciding games of their respective semifinal series.
Game 1 of the best-of-three finals is set on Wednesday, also at the Big Dome.
Both the Squires and the Braves entered the semis as the No. 2 seeds of their groups, with Letran finishing 7-6 in Group B and Arellano ending at 8-5 in Group A.
Letran needed all three games to boot out defending champion Perpetual Junior Altas in the quarterfinals, dropping Game 1 (69-74) before bouncing back with a 70-65 win in the deciding match.
Arellano, meanwhile, dispatched La Salle Green Hills, 86-79, to advance.
Nathan Egea, the UAAP Season 86 Boys’ Basketball Rookie of the Year, spearheaded the Squires in Game 3 with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Mico Pascual and Justin Cargo backed Egea up with 17 and 15 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, presumptive MVP Sean Franco powered the Braves, scoring five of his 26 points in the second overtime to seal Arellano’s return to the finals for the first time since Season 91.
Supporting him were Chris Dy (19 points), Ray Ladica (19 points and 16 rebounds), Axel Mendoza (19 points), and Aaron Manansala (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals).
In their elimination-round meeting last October 26, Letran fell short against Arellano, 80-83.
Arellano earlier took Game 1 of its semis series versus Malayan, 99-90, before the Red Robins forced a decider with an 86-82 win.
In the other bracket, Letran struck first with a 77-76 win, but EAC-ICA forced a rubber match after a 75-70 victory in Game 2.
EAC-ICA, which topped Group B with a 10-3 record, was led by Clint Bonus with 22 points, while Noel Lanceta added 13.
Malayan, the No. 1 seed of Group A with a 9-4 slate, saw Froilan Reyes pace the Red Robins with 20 points.
Chris Parame and MJ Bernabe also finished with double-doubles—Parame tallying 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Bernabe posted 14 and 10.
The Red Robins missed lead floor general Jhillian Palis for the decider after accumulating two technical fouls in Game 2.
