MANILA, Philippines – Colegio de San Juan de Letran was the biggest surprise of the NCAA Season 91 tournament, hands down. Not even pegged to be a Final 4 team, the Knights went all the way to the Finals and ended a 10-year championship drought by beating San Beda.

Season 91 record: 13-5

Season 91 summary: The Letran Knights took the NCAA by storm, opening the tournament with seven straight wins that included victories over San Beda College, Jose Rizal University and Arellano University – all former Final Four squads.

(READ: Ayo’s biggest believers are still the Letran Knights)

Much of their success was credited to head coach Aldin Ayo, who installed a superb full court defense that frustrated their opponents, while giving players like Mark Cruz and Kevin Racal the freedom to create on offense.

The result was a high-scoring, highly entertaining team that wore out their foes, forced turnovers, and ran all game long. They dipped a bit in the second round, lost to San Beda in the playoff for the first seed, and were pushed to the limit by Mapua Institute of Technology in the Final 4 before hacking out a 91-90 win.

They drew first blood in the Finals, beating San Beda 94-90 in Game 1. The Red Lions roared back, winning Game 2, 68-61, to set up a winner-takes-all Game 3 showdown.

Several heroes stepped up for Letran in the third game, from their Big Three of Cruz and Racal and Nambatac, to unheralded big man Jom Sollano, to heady guard McJour Luib. But it was Cruz, who epitomized Letran's "House of Chaos" style and was named Finals MVP.

Key losses: Aldin Ayo, Mark Cruz, Kevin Racal

Key returnees: Rey Nambatac, McJour Luib, Jom Sollano, Bong Quinto

Key addition: Coach Jeff Napa

Projection: The Letran Knights suffered some truly painful losses in the offseason. Not only did they lose Cruz and Racal to graduation, but they also lost Ayo, who is now coaching De La Salle University in the UAAP.

In response, they brought in Napa, who led the National University Bullpups to the UAAP Season 78 juniors crown. They went through some growing pains in the offseason, failing to make it to the quarterfinals of the FilOil tournament and suffering losses to La Salle and San Beda.

With Cruz and Racal out, the burden of leadership now shifts to Nambatac, while players like Sollano, Luib, and Quinto will have to take a bigger role as well. Nambatac insists that they have fully adjusted to Napa's system, and are ready to buckle down to defend their title again.

Quote: "Under Coach Jeff Napa, maganda naman ang flow ng team namin. New system nga, pero para sa akin naman, wala namang pinagkaiba 'yun sa dati naming sistema, dahil defensive-minded din si Coach Jeff. Ang Letran naman, talagang defensive minded. So, 'di kami masyadong nangapa sa sistema ni Coach Jeff, and I think ready na kami ngayong Season 92." – Rey Nambatac

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