Arellano eliminated Letran from the Final Four race with a nail-biting 67-65 victory on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Though already out of semifinal contention, the Chiefs still displayed grit especially in the crucial moments to extend their winning streak to three games and improve their win-loss tally to 7-10 with one game left in the season.

Letran, for its part, ended the season with a heartbreak, absorbing its 10^th defeat against eight wins for solo sixth and kissing its semis hopes goodbye.

Lorenz Capulong paced Arellano with a double-double performance of 13 points and 12 rebounds including a split charity in the last 4.7 seconds that gave them a one-ball possession lead.

Nat Montecillo attempted a long buzzer-beating triple with hopes of grabbing the victory, but it bounced off the rim as Letran missed the semis for the second straight season.

“Morale boost pa rin sa amin. Same goal pa rin naman kami pero different result. Ang importante, kung ano yung makuha naming mga lesson dito sa Season 100 na madadala namin next season,” said Arellano coach Chico Manabat, whose wards avenged their 86-79 loss to the Knights in the first round last Sept. 17.

Letran appeared in control of the game after leading by as many as 14, 42-28, before Arellano grabbed the upperhand 63-56, in the last 5:51 of the game.

Montecillo, Kobe Monje and Paolo Javillonar conspired for a 9-1 blast to give the Knights a 65-64 edge, but the Chiefs were a tough nut to crack as Basti Valencia unloaded a crucial putback to regain the lead, 66-65.

Monje finished with a career-high 24 points, while Montecillo and Javillonar had 11 points each in a losing cause for Letran.

Meanwhile, College of St. Benilde downed San Beda, 70-62, to keep a firmer grip of the No. 1 spot.

Jhomel Ancheta uncorked a game-high 18 points while Allen Liwag pumped in 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Blazers improved to 14-3.

St. Benilde could accomplish it if it could hurdle Lyceum since it has a better tiebreak against chief rival Mapua in the eventuality of a tie.

For the Lions, they remained at No. 3 despite skidding to 10-7.

In the third game, Mapua bucked the absence of coach Randy Alcantara as it routed San Sebastian, 95-79, that kept them tied with College of St. Benilde at the helm.

Alcantara paced his team with 18 points in powering the Cardinals to a 14-3 mark to bolster their bid for the top seeding.

The Stags dropped to 5-12.

The scores:

First Game

ARELLANO 67 – Capulong 13, Vinoya 9, Valencia 8, Camay 7, Hernal 7, Geronimo 6, De Leon 4, Borromeo 4, Libang 4, Abiera 3, Miller 2, Ongotan 0, Flores 0.

LETRAN 65 – Monje 24, Montecillo 11, Javillonar 11, Estrada 10, Miller 5, Santos 2, Nunag 2, Cuajao 0, Jumao-As 0, Dimaano 0.

Quarters: 17-16; 28-40; 51-54; 67-65.

Second Game

CSB 70 – Ancheta 18, Liwag 14, Sanchez 13, Ynot 10, Torres 5, Cometa 4, Morales 3, Sangco 3, Oli 0, Eusebio 0, Turco 0, Serrano 0, Ondoa 0.

SAN BEDA 62 – Lina 17, Payosing 12, Andrada 10, Estacio 7, Sajonia 6, Celzo 4, Songcuya 2, Puno 2, Gonzales 2, Calimag 0, Bonzalida 0, Royo 0, Sollano 0, Tagle 0.

Quarterss: 19-20; 34-31; 52-51; 70-62.

Third Game

MAPUA  95- Concepcion 18, Hubilla 17, Recto 17, Garcia 12, Mangubat 8, Escamis 6, Abdulla 6, Bancale 4, Cuenco 3, Jabonete 2, Ryan 2, Igliane 0, Agemenyi 0, Reyno 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 79 - Are 22, Escobido 16, R. Gabat 14, Felebrico 13, Aguilar 5, Velasco 3, Cruz 3, P. Gabat 2, Ricio 1, Maliwat 0, Pascual 0, Lintol 0, Suico 0.

Quarters: 24-17; 45-33; 81-49; 95-79.