San Beda–Letran rivalry

This rivalry is between Mendiola's San Beda and Muralla's Letran.

The rivalry started on October 28, 1950 when Letran and San Beda meet in the finals for the first time. Letran then was led by Lauro Mumar while San Beda was led by Carlos Loyzaga who eventually became legends of Philippine Basketball. During the second round of eliminations Letran was on the verge of sweeping the tournament to become eventual champions (the Final 4 format was not yet implemented), but San Beda spoiled it and beat them to arrange a championship showdown with the Knights. In the finals, Letran got their sweet revenge as they beat San Beda to get their second title in the NCAA. The Letran team was called "Murder Inc." by the late Willie Hernandez because of their merciless brand of basketball, very unforgiving. After that historic match, San Beda kept on winning many championships until the 1970s while Letran ended the 1970s with only six championships. In the 1980s, the NCAA saw the downfall of the San Beda while Letran peaked and became a powerhouse team that will continue until the millennium decade.

With the exit of their fierce rivals, Ateneo for San Beda and La Salle for Letran, some say the rivalry has died down because of their heaven and earth situation not until in 2006 when the Red Lions won their 12th championship after 28 years. During that same year San Beda won twice against Letran and denied the Knights to gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

In 2007, San Beda and Letran played for the championship for the second time and was dubbed "The Dream Finals" because it featured two NCAA teams who have very rich basketball history and tradition and in this series, San Beda had a championship score to settle with Letran (to avenge their defeat in the finals 57 years ago). The Red Lions eventually swept the Knights 2−0. San Beda's Rogemar Menor was named as the 2007 NCAA Finals MVP. Right now they are the most anticipated games in the NCAA which led to bringing the games at the Araneta Coliseum. They are also compared to UAAP's Ateneo-La Salle rivalry where in some columnists say it is the "icing in the cake" of today's NCAA.

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Wikipedia