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, 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. 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.

Head-to-head record by sport

Seniors' Division

As of October 2016, the San Beda Red Lions has more collegiate championships in the seniors' division compared to the Letran Knights. San Beda has 112 seniors' collegiate championships while Letran has 94. Letran leads the General Championships Tally with 9 titles with San Beda having 6.
San Beda leads Letran 9-4 in different all-time sports categories.
Both schools have yet to win collegiate championships in cheerleading.

General Championship

Letran leads the General Championship race with 9-7.
As of October 2016, the San Beda Red Cubs leads the rivalry in the juniors' division with 102 championships while the Letran Squires has 70 championships. The Red Cubs also leads the general championships tally with 12 compared to the Squires' 8 general championships.
San Beda leads Letran 6-5 in different all-time sports categories.
San Beda leads the general championship race with 12-8.

Men's basketball results

Both teams are expected to meet at least 2 times per year.

Juniors' Basketball Results

Since 2007, San Beda leads the rivalry 27-7 but if the game on July 21, 2010 favored San Beda, San Beda will still be the leader of the rivalry but with a better record of 28-6.
DateSan BedaLetranVenueNote/s
July 9, 2007San Beda 92 Letran 106The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
August 31, 2007 San Beda 98Letran 96Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
September 12, 2007 San Beda 96Letran 86Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CitySemifinals. Letran has twice-to-beat advantage.
September 14, 2007San Beda 92 Letran 96The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSemifinals. Letran lost in the finals vs. San Sebastian.
July 30, 2008San Beda 77 Letran 91The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
September 5, 2008San Beda 61 Letran 65The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
July 24, 2009San Beda 84 Letran 99The Arena in San Juan, San JuanLetran had a 5-0 record prior to the game.
October 2, 2009 San Beda 92Letran 91The Arena in San Juan, San JuanLetran had a 17-0 record prior to the game.
October 14, 2009 San Beda 91Letran 77The Arena in San Juan, San Juan1st seed playoff.
October 22, 2009 San Beda 98Letran 75Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFinals - Game 1. San Beda leads series 1-0.
October 24, 2009San Beda 80 Letran 83Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFinals - Game 2. Series tied with 1-1.
October 29, 2009 San Beda 86Letran 75Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFinals - Game 3, San Beda ends 5-year title drought.
July 21, 2010 San Beda 86Letran 71The Arena in San Juan, San JuanGame forfeited due to the wrong uniform of San Beda's player, Baser Amer.
September 24, 2010 San Beda 86Letran 71The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
October 6, 2010 San Beda 92Letran 80The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSemifinals. San Beda went on to win the championship vs. San Sebastian.
August 1, 2011 San Beda 84Letran 72The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had a 5-0 record prior to the game.
October 7, 2011 San Beda 88Letran 63The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had a 16-0 record prior to the game. San Beda now has a 4-game winning streak against Letran since 2010.
August 16, 2012 San Beda 86Letran 69The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had an 8-0 record prior to the game.
September 1, 2012 San Beda 73Letran 64The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had a 10-0 record prior to the game.
October 13, 2012 San Beda 61Letran 57Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CitySemifinals. San Beda now has a 7-game winning streak against Letran since 2010, San Beda went on to win the championship vs. San Sebastian.
August 25, 2013 San Beda 100Letran 86The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had an 8-0 record prior to the game.
October 21, 2013 San Beda 95Letran 84The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had a 17-0 record prior to the game.
August 13, 2014 San Beda 70Letran 48The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
September 13, 2014 San Beda 88Letran 83The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
July 16, 2015 San Beda 99Letran 59The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda now has 12 game winning streak against Letran.
October 6, 2015 San Beda 76Letran 67The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda had a 17-0 record prior to the game and San Beda swept the elimination round after beating Letran.
June 27, 2016 San Beda 107Letran 74The Arena in San Juan, San JuanOpening game.
September 8, 2016 San Beda 96Letran 83The Arena in San Juan, San JuanSan Beda was on a 6-game winning streak prior to the game.
July 25, 2017 San Beda 91Letran 45The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
October 13, 2017 San Beda 63Letran 60The Arena in San Juan, San Juan
August 10, 2018 San Beda 75Letran 74The Arena in San Juan, San JuanOT.
September 11, 2018 San Beda 61Letran 60The Arena in San Juan, San JuanOT.
August 10, 2019 San Beda 83Letran 79Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
October 1, 2019 San Beda 108Letran 80The Arena in San Juan, San Juan

Final Four Rankings

For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.

Seniors' division

Juniors' division

A.Y.San BedaLetran
1998–19992nd3rd
1999-20001st4th
2000-20013rd1st
2001-20022nd1st
2002-20031st2nd
2003-20041st5th
2004-20051st2nd
2005-20062nd7th
2006-20073rd7th
2007-20083rd2nd
2008-20095th2nd
2009-20101st2nd
2010-20111st4th
2011-20121st2nd
2012-20131st4th
2013-20141st6th
2014-20152nd3rd
2015-20161st7th
2016-20171st6th
2017-20181st3rd
2018-20193rd9th
2019-20201st7th