MANILA -- The San Beda Red Lions kept defending champion Letran winless in NCAA Season 99 as they held on for a 68-63 triumph on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The Red Lions showed greater composure down the stretch as they recorded back-to-back wins to improve to 3-1, while sending the Knights to a 0-4 start in the tournament.

Letran had a 63-62 lead with 25 seconds left after skipper Kurt Reyson converted a tough floater from midrange. But off a timeout, the Red Lions perfectly ran Yuri Escueta's play that left Alex Visser wide open under the basket for the go-ahead bucket, 64-63.

San Beda then leaned on its defense in the next possession, timing a double-team on Reyson perfectly and forcing Kobe Monje to throw away the inbound pass. Forced to foul, Letran sent Jacob Cortez to the line where he made two clutch shots, 66-63.

Reyson bricked a triple in Letran's next possession, and Yukien Andrada knocked down two more freebies to peg the final score. Another Reyson three-pointer in Letran's final offensive trip was off the mark.

Cortez finished with 14 points, three assists, and three rebounds, while Andrada just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine dimes.

Reyson had 22 points though he shot just 8-of-22 from the field. The Knights gave up 17 offensive rebounds in the game, which the Red Lions translated to 16 second chance points.

San Beda won despite shooting just 32.3% from the field, with Letran a tad better at 37.1%.

The scores:

SAN BEDA 68- Cortez 114, Andrada 14, Cuntapay 10, Visser 7, Puno 6, Payosing 5, Alfaro 5, Gallego 3, Jopia 2, Gonzales 2, Tagle 0

LETRAN 63- Reyson 22, Cuajao 13, Garupil 11, Ariar 6, Monje 4, Santos 3, Javillonar 2, Guarino 2, Go 0, Fajardo 0, Batallier 0, Juamo-as 0

Quarterscores: 13-13; 26-32; 45-46; 68-63