Defending champion San Beda Red Lions ends up on the top spot of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 91 men’s basketball after their crucial game with Letran Knights, 77-73, on October 6 at the San Juan Arena.

The Red Lions become the first team to enter the final four and earn the twice-to-beat edge with a 13-5 record at the end of elimination round, which is a reprise of their Season 90 record.

“Coming off from an embarrassing loss against Arellano, we really needed to bounce back, we really needed to play solid and we did for three quarters,” Red Lions coach Jamike Jarin said during a post game interview.

The game started as a one-way contestwith a a huge gap at halftime, 43-25, in favor of the Red Lions.

It was a collective effort by the team because Ola Adeogun posted 13 points, Amiel Soberano had 11 points, Ryusei Koga got 10, and Pierre Tankoua with eight rebounds.

On the other side, Letrantried to narrow the lead down but their offensive play was not enough to stop the Lions from recovering in the latter part of the game.

Rey Nambatac and Mark Cruz led Letran with final outputs of 16 and 12 points, respectively.

The Knights will have another shot for a final four slot and twice-to-beat advantage in their last game for elimination round on Friday, October 9 against the University of Perpetual Help System-Dalta (UPHSD).

In the first two games, the Mapua Cardinals and Arellano Chiefs secured hard-earned wins over ousted teams College of Saint Benilde Blazers and Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, respectively.