#NCAASeason95Finals: San Beda forces do-or-die Tuesday after Game 2 thriller over Letran

With the grip of the title slipping away from them, defending three-time NCAA champions San Beda willed its way back into the Season 95 Finals after a pulsating 79-76 win over arch-rival Letran Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Blowing their first-half lead and finding themselves trailing into the final period,  the Red Lions roared with a fighting heart of a champion to force the winner-take-all game on Tuesday in Pasay, levelling the series at one game apiece as the Mythical Five tandem of James Canlas and league MVP Calvin Oftana doing the big business in the payoff period.

Canlas lead San Beda with 21 points, including 10 in the fourth while Oftana had the double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds to bounce back from his horrific showing in Game 1.

It was a game fought between heroes as Fran Yu and Larry Muyang turned up huge for the Knights as well, before coming up short in the endgame in a valiant effort.

Making a statement early on, the Red Lions jumped out to the gate early on by scoring the game's fifteen points for an eleven-point lead at the end of the first.

However, Letran responded with a 12-0 run in between the first two periods, before Clint Dolinguez fired eight straight to put the lead back to double-digits en route to a 12-point halftime lead.

However, the third belonged to Yu, where he went unconscious firing 14 of his game-high 23 points there, including the last eight points of Letran where he capped it off with a tough fall-away shot that banked in at the horn.

Since then, it was a straight on shootout in the fourth, with Letran's 7-0 run to broke the 59-all deadlock was answered by a 13-0 Bedan reply, but Muyang hit six of his 9 points there (17 total) on a 10-2 counter to take back the lead for the final time.

However, Oftana and San Beda had the last word, with the MVP fired a huge three-point play for the go-ahead off an Bonbon Batiller foul in the final 19.1 seconds. Then Canlas sealed it with two free throws after Batiller muffed his reverse lay-up earlier.

The Scores:

SAN BEDA 79 -- Canlas 21, Oftana 17, Doliguez 17, Carino 7, Nelle 5, Soberano 5, Cuntapay 3, Tankoua 2, Abuda 2, Bahio 0, Noah 0,

LETRAN 76 -- Yu 23, Muyang 17, Batiller 11, Ambohot 9, Balanza 9, Caralipio 7, Olivario 0, Ular 0, Mina 0, Reyson 0, Balagasay 0, Sangalang 0.

Quarter scores: 18-7, 37-25, 53-56, 79-76

Photo by Gider Malabute/RedEye Photography