MANILA – Ilonggo guard John Bryan Sajonia powered San Beda University to a statement victory in the NCAA Season 101 opener, steering the Red Lions to a 96-85 stunner over last year’s finalist College of St. Benilde Blazers on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Pavia, Iloilo native delivered 16 points and steady floor leadership to anchor a balanced San Beda attack, helping his team avenge its lopsided 40-point preseason loss to the same opponent.
Despite missing all eight of his three-point attempts, Sajonia’s playmaking fueled a decisive third-quarter run that swung the momentum for the Red Lions.
San Beda broke away late in the third, turning a slim 60-58 edge into a commanding 76-63 cushion behind Sajonia’s orchestration of a 16-5 rally.
They later stretched the lead to as many as 17, 86-69, before withstanding a late Blazers surge.
“Hindi naman sa nagulat ako, but again, last year tinalo kami niyan, Filoil tinambakan kami niyan ng 40 points, so we knew what to expect. I have to give it to my players that they really bought into the preparations coming into this game,” said San Beda coach Yuri Escueta.
“It’s still a long season. One win doesn’t bring us to the playoffs, one loss doesn’t end our season. Malayo pa ‘to. It’s just the first day of the NCAA. But it’s a welcome win for us. Very important especially for our confidence ng team namin,” he added.
Janti Miller also shone in his NCAA debut with 16 points, while Jimmy Reyes and Yukien Andrada chipped in 13 and 11, respectively, to round out San Beda’s balanced showing.
The Blazers leaned on Justine Sanchez’s 24-point outburst, while Ian Torres added 13 and reigning NCAA MVP Allen Liwag tallied a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to avert the upset.
Meanwhile, defending champion Mapua University Cardinals survived a double-overtime thriller, edging Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates, 90-89, to begin their title defense. Cyrus Cuenco sank a go-ahead free throw with 6.8 seconds left to seal the grind-out win for the Cardinals./PN
BOX SCORE
SAN BEDA 96 – Sajonia 16, Miller 16, Reyes 13, Andrada 11, Etulle 9, Gonzales 8, Calimag 7, Celzo 6, Culdora 4, Bonzalida 4, Lina 2, Estacio 0.
CSB 85 – Sanchez 24, Torres 13, Liwag 12, Ancheta 8, Celis 6, Oli 6, Cometa 4, Cajucom 4, Moore 3, Morales 3, Gaspay 2, Umali 0, Eusebio 0, Daja 0.
Quarterscores: 26-30, 48-45, 71-61, 96-85.
