Jose Rizal University pounced on a Letran College squad already in cruise mode as it scored an 87-71 victory on Wednesday and capped its campaign in the Season 98 National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament with a bang at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The loss by Letran meant that the Knights would take the No. 2 spot in the Final Four, behind top seed College of Saint Benilde. Spots three and four belong to Lyceum of the Philippines and San Beda University.

Under the Final Four format, the No. 1 seed—Saint Benilde takes on San Beda—and the No. 2 seed meets Lyceum.

It was a freak win by the Heavy Bombers since they haven't beaten the Knights since 2017.

The first time the two teams met, Letran took a 101-97 decision.

Still, Knights head coach Bonnie Tan swore it was the quality of the teams taking part in the league that may have caused the upset.

"You can't underestimate anyone in the Final Four. Comparing Lyceum to JRU, both teams are fast-paced and we had a 1-1 win-loss card against them," Tan said.

The Blazers finished the eliminations with a 14-4 win-loss card while Letran wound up with a 13-5 ledger. Lyceum and San Beda tote identical 12-6 marks but the Pirates have the superior tiebreak score.

JRU opened the first quarter hot as Joshua Guiab's jumper with four minutes and 56 seconds in the clock capped an 18-7 run.

"Even before the start of the season, we wanted to prove that we belong in the NCAA. I asked my players what more can they show in the game," Heavy Bombers head coach Gonzales said.

"We want to commit that if we want to win, we have to put everything on the table, especially their efforts on the court."