Battle of Intramuros


 * "Battle of Intramuros" may also refer to the several Battles fought over Manila.

The Battle of Intramuros is the rivalry between Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights and Mapúa Institute of Technology Cardinals; both are walking distance from each other at Manila's Intramuros district. The rivalry is played at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines).

The rivalry is notable in which even though Letran performs better in league competition, they have never swept the elimination round meetings against their neighbors in recent years.

The Battle of Intramuros may also refer to the "original" rivalry between University of the Philippines Manila (UP) and Ateneo de Manila in which first began on 1915 when UP and Ateneo played basketball games on Intramuros. Eventually the rivalry died down and was revived when both schools competed in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and is now called the "Battle of Katipunan" from the avenue that connects Ateneo's new campus at Quezon City and University of the Philippines Diliman (The Manila university stopped sponsoring collegiate athletics after World War II.)

Another "Battle of Intramuros", though not as prominent as the one between Letran and Mapúa, was formed when Lyceum of the Philippines University, another Intramuros-based institution sandwiched between Letran's and Mapúa's campuses, joined the NCAA as a guest team in 2011 and was advertised as such whenever the Pirates play either the Knights or the Cardinals. However, due to Lyceum's status as a guest team, it is not considered a rivalry for now.

Men's basketball results
The final four was instituted in 1997; prior to that the first and second round winners, plus the team with the best overall standing if it did not win either round, participated in the championship round to determine the champion.

The "Battle of Intramuros," which is so named because the two schools are three blocks apart from each other in Intramuros, is the name given to the Letran-Mapúa games. The Cardinals have had the mastery of the Knights in recent years. For eight consecutive years from 1998, Letran has failed to beat Mapúa in the eliminations rounds at least twice (either they will split the eliminations or Mapúa will win twice), even though the Knights were more successful in the league.

The Knights were finally able to beat Mapúa in the first round of the 2005 tournament, but the Cardinals avenged that loss in the second round when they dealt the Knights with their first and only defeat of the season. Letran Knights were on their way on scoring a rare a 14–0 sweep of the elimination round when they were stopped by the Mapúa Cardinals in their twelfth game of the eliminations Letran and Mapúa would split their games in subsequent seasons. In 2009 Letran finally end its 2nd-round losing streak against Mapúa and its first sweep against their Intramuros rivals in league history

Although the only instance where Letran and Mapúa met in the Finals was in the 1979 season where the Knights prevailed, the championship won by the Cardinals in 1981 (the games were suspended in the 1980 season due to the La Salle–Letran fracas) proved to be a spoiler once again as it denied Letran the bragging rights to the unprecedented honor of being the first ever NCAA team to win five consecutive seniors championships (Letran also won the 1982, 1983, and 1984 crowns), a feat that would later on be achieved by the San Sebastian Stags from 1993 to 1997.

Final Four era
Both teams are guaranteed to face each other at the elimination round (regular season) twice, while they can meet for a maximum of three times in the playoffs.


 * Notes

Final Four Rankings
For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.

Legend
 * Number denotes playoff seeding. Shade denotes final position.


 * Notes

Juniors basketball results
Juniors games between Letran and Mapúa have not been played under this label. While Letran's high school has always been at Intramuros, Mapúa's high schools have always been outside its walls, staying at the Santa Cruz district for most of its history, then the current Malayan High School of Science now being found at Pandacan.

Men's basketball results
Both teams are guaranteed to face each other at the elimination round (regular season) twice, while they can meet for a maximum of three times in the playoffs.


 * Notes

Final Four Rankings
For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.

Legend
 * Number denotes playoff seeding. Shade denotes final position.


 * Notes

Juniors basketball results
Juniors games between Letran and Lyceum have not been played under this label. While Letran's high school has always been at Intramuros, Lyceum's high school teams are represented by its Cavite campus.

Men's basketball results
Both teams are guaranteed to face each other at the elimination round (regular season) twice, while they can meet for a maximum of three times in the playoffs.


 * Notes

Final Four Rankings
For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.

Legend
 * Number denotes playoff seeding. Shade denotes final position.


 * Notes

Juniors basketball results
Juniors games between Lyceum and Mapúa have not been played under this label. Lyceum's high school teams are represented by its Cavite campus, while Mapúa is represented by the Malayan High School of Science, which is located in Pandacan, Manila