Letran Knights team wins NCAA overall plum

LETRAN Knights soared past back-to-back champion St. Benilde Blazers to win its first general championship crown in seven years at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Letran earned 325 points, which banked on victories in men’s volleyball, chess, men’s beach volleyball and lawn tennis to bag the 85th season crown.

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Closest pursuer and former champion Benilde got 321.60 points, which was drawn from big games such as football, swimming, women’s beach volleyball, and table tennis.

With the win, the Muralla-based athletes now holds the distinction of being the second winning team in the seven-member league with eight crowns, although a far cry from the Mapua Cardinals’ 21 titles.

Letran also got five consecutive overall crowns from 1998-2002.

Management Committee chairman Fr. Vic Calvo, OP., of Letran said the key was fielding in teams with realistic chances of delivering the victories.

“Our program and philosophy in sports is very effective, its quality participation,” Calvo said in a statement.

“Although we don’t have complete teams, we were still able to emerge as overall champions.”

San Sebastian, which will host Season 86, dominated athletics to finish a decent third with 306 points.

The Stags earlier snapped San Beda Lions four-peat bid in basketball and their lady counterparts dominated women’s volleyball and track and field.

Season host San Beda finished fourth with 289 points after ruling taekwondo, swimming and men’s table tennis while Perpetual Help came in at No. 5 with 213 points after winning women’s beach volleyball.

Arellano Chiefs, one of the three guest teams this year, surprisingly ended up at seventh place with 156 points.

The Chiefs, together with the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals, will be the league’s regular members on probationary basis starting Season 86.

Mapua finished sixth with 153.60 points while Jose Rizal (129), EAC (90.60) and Angeles University Foundation (82) ended up eighth, ninth and 10th places, respectively.

In juniors division, SSC ended the two-year reign of CSB-La Salle Greenhills to capture its first general championship in three years with a 295-point output.

The Junior Blazers took the runner-up position anew with 280 points.

In snaring their fourth crown overall, the Staglets relied on wins in chess and athletics to make up for its foiled title defenses in basketball and volleyball.

The determination of the season general champion follows a points system similar to the one used in Formula One, where the school with the highest accumulated score from all events in a division wins the General Championship.

A championship in an event entitles a school with 30 points, the second placer 20, up to eighth place, with one point. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)