Holland was on the doorstep of a Boston City League boys basketball title a year ago, only to come up short against Charlestown.

The Bulldogs are back in the final once again, looking to take that final step.

Gerard Banks was a force in the paint with 26 points and 15 rebounds as Holland (17-3) shrugged off a slow star to defeat Latin Academy 55-43 in a semifinal Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs will face English, which rallied late to edge upstart Muniz 67-64, in Thursday’s final (4 p.m. at Madison Park).

The teams have met twice this season, with Holland prevailing by double digits on both occasions.

Latin Academy (15-5) dictated the tempo early and was able to establish sophomore Krem Amparo inside. He scored eight of his 14 points in the opening quarter as the Dragons jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the break.

Slowly, but surely, Holland began taking the game over thanks to its defense. Over the final 24 minutes, they forced 17 turnovers and limited Latin Academy to just 13 baskets.

The Bulldogs outscored the Dragons 19-9 in the second quarter to take a slim 27-24 lead into the break. Banks was unstoppable inside, scoring 10 points in the quarter to go along with some solid perimeter play from Kamran Gordon and Jasaad Fenton.

Holland gradually opened up a double-digit lead as it refused to allow Latin Academy any leeway. Yassir Amghar came alive in the second half, scoring all seven of his points in the final 16 minutes. Fenton and Amghar also did a good job of getting the ball to Banks, the duo combining for 12 assists.

For Latin Academy, which employs a largely underclassmen lineup, freshman point guard Will Olinto had a solid all-around game with eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

In the first game, English (12-9) had its hands full with a Muniz program making its first trip to the BCL semifinals. Thanks to the play of Zyheire Carr (18 points), Kamal Nelson (17), Ryan Laca Sanders (10) and Anibal Hatton (eight points, 10 rebounds), the Phoenix rallied from an early double-digit deficit to take a lead into the fourth quarter.

A 3-point basket by Nelson, his fifth of the game, gave Muniz (15-5) a 64-63 lead with 90 seconds left. But that would be their last points of the night as Edgar Escano (19 points, seven rebounds) converted on a drive with 53.3 seconds left, then Janeudy Brea Collins (14 points) knocked down a pair of free throws to account for the final margin of victory.

Darvens Alcime had a double-double for English with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Nisiaiah Nieves added seven points and 11 rebounds.