The San Beda–Letran rivalry is a multiple sport competition between two Philippine schools. This rivalry is between Mendiola's San Beda and Muralla's Letran. The rivalry is played at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines).
Head-to-head record by sport
Seniors' Division As of October 2016, the San Beda Red Lions have 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 8.
San Beda leads Letran 9–4 in different all-time sports categories.
Badminton – San Beda (3) – Letran (2) Basketball – San Beda (23) – Letran (20) Beach Volleyball – Letran (3) – San Beda (2) Chess – Letran (6) – San Beda (3) Football – San Beda (24) – Letran (7) Lawn Tennis – San Beda (16) – Letran (11) Soft Tennis – San Beda (5) – Letran (none) Softball – San Beda (3) – Letran (1) Swimming – San Beda (32) – Letran (2) Table Tennis – San Beda (15) – Letran (12) Taekwondo – San Beda (10) – Letran (6) Track and Field – Letran (6) – San Beda (none) Volleyball – Letran (22) – San Beda (none)
Both schools have yet to win collegiate championships in cheerleading.
General Championship Letran leads the General Championship race with 9–8. Letran (9) – 1979–80, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2009–10 San Beda (7) – 2010–11, 2011–2012, 2012–2013, 2015–16, 2016–2017, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2023–2024
Juniors' Division 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 lead the general championships tally with 14 compared to the Squires' 8 general championships.
San Beda leads Letran 6–5 in different all-time sports categories. Basketball – San Beda (23) – Letran (13) Beach Volleyball – Letran (1) – San Beda (none) Chess – Letran (13) – San Beda (5) Football – San Beda (16) – Letran (5) Lawn Tennis – San Beda (16) – Letran (7) Softball – San Beda (2) – Letran (none) Swimming – San Beda (22) – Letran (2) Table Tennis – Letran (17) – San Beda (6) Taekwondo – Letran (3) – San Beda (1) Track and Field – San Beda (8) – Letran (6) Volleyball – Letran (5) – San Beda (4)
General Championship San Beda leads the General Championship race with 14–8.NCAA Philippines – Championships San Beda (14) – 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Letran (8) – 1983, 1986, 1987, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
Basketball Statistics
Men's basketball results 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. Letran is on the verge of sweeping the tournament to become eventual champions (the Final 4 format was not yet implemented), but San Beda 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. After that historic match, San Beda kept on winning many championships until the 1970s while Letran ended the 1970s with six championships. During the 1980s the NCAA saw the downfall of the San Beda basketball program while Letran peaked and became a powerhouse team.
The final four was instituted in 1997; prior to that the first and second round winners, plus the team with the best overall standing if it did not win either round, participated in the championship round to determine the champion.
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 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 which was dubbed "The Dream Finals" because it featured two NCAA teams who have very rich basketball history and tradition. In this series, San Beda had a championship score to settle with Letran (to avenge their defeat in the finals 57 years prior). 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 where in some columnists say it is the "icing in the cake" of today's NCAA.
From 2005 to 2023, either San Beda, Letran or both appeared in every NCAA seniors' basketball championship, with the two schools combining to win all but one championship during this span. San Beda and Letran faced off in the 2007, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019 championship round, with San Beda winning three of the five championships. Pre-Final Four era
Final Four era Both teams are expected to meet at least 2 times per year.
Notes
Juniors' Basketball Results Pre-Final Four era
Final Four era Since 2007, San Beda leads the rivalry 28–7 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 29–6.
Notes
Final Four Rankings For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.
Seniors' division A.Y. Letran San Beda 1997–1998 3rd 2nd 1998–1999 1st 4th 1999–2000 4th 5th 2000–2001 7th 6th 2001–2002 6th 8th 2002–2003 6th 7th 2003–2004 1st 6th 2004–2005 3rd 4th 2005–2006 1st 7th 2006–2007 3rd 1st 2007–2008 2nd 1st 2008–2009 3rd 1st 2009–2010 4th 1st 2010–2011 5th 1st 2011–2022 3rd 1st 2012–2013 3rd 1st 2013–2014 2nd 1st 2014–2015 6th 1st 2015–2016 2nd 1st 2016–2017 6th 1st 2017–2018 5th 2nd 2018–2019 3rd 1st 2019–2020 3rd 1st 2021–2022 1st 3rd 2022–2023 2nd 4th 2023–2024 9th 3rd 2024–2025 6th 3rd
Volleyball Statistics Men's volleyball results Letran and San Beda competed at the NCAA Men's Volleyball Finals in Season 85.
Notes
Women's volleyball results
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See also San Beda Red Lions National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) Battle of Intramuros San Beda–San Sebastian rivalry Ateneo–La Salle rivalry
References
External links NCAA historical results NCAA Season 85 Schedules and Results NCAA Season 86 Schedules and Results Google News Archive Manila Bulletin Online Newspaper Archive The LANCE – Letran College