University of Perpetual Help System Dalta clinched the top seed of Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) juniors basketball tournament after an 85-70 win over defending champion Letran College at the Filoil EcoOil Centre on Monday.

Jan Roluna dropped a double-double performance of 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Junior Altas stomped on the Squires in a rematch from last year’s finals.

Three more Perpetual players dropped double digits as Jericho Cristino had 15 points and seven rebounds, Lebron James Daep with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and JD Pagulayan with 11 points and nine rebounds as they finished the elimination round as the No. 1 seed for the second straight season.

Sporting an 8-1 win-loss record, the Junior Altas will be entering the Final Four with a twice-to-beat advantage against fourth seed San Beda University-Rizal, which finished the elimination round with a 6-3 slate, on 7 April at 12 p.m. at the same venue.

Roluna said they never got over their 80-83 loss from the Red Cubs last 2 March and will use that memory as fuel to book a return trip to the finals.

“We never forgot about that loss. Everytime we went into training, we used that defeat to motivate us,” Roluna said.

Jhello Lumaque tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks as Letran finished with the second seed with a 6-3 slate.

The Squires will face third seed La Salle Green Hills, which has a similar 6-3 record, on 7 April at 2 p.m. at the same San Juan venue.