MANILA — San Beda University inched to within a win of reclaiming its NCAA men’s basketball throne after detonating a decisive third-quarter run to rout defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 89-70, in Game 1 of the Season 101 finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ilonggo guard John Bryan Sajonia spearheaded the breakaway with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists as the Season 99 champions seized a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and moved closer to capturing their 24th seniors basketball crown.
Agjanti Miller backed him with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, while Nygel Gonzales added 14 markers and five assists for the Red Lions, who broke the game open with a furious 22-5 blast in the third quarter that stretched a precarious 46-43 halftime lead into a commanding 68-48 advantage.
San Beda had earlier raced to a 15-5 start and led 29-19 after the opening period, but Letran momentarily found its rhythm to cut the gap to three before the break.
Jonathan Manalili paced the Knights with 17 points, five assists, four steals, and two rebounds. Johnsherick Estrada and Jun Roque finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
San Beda can finish the job in Game 2 on Saturday, also at the Big Dome, but must do so without Miller, who incurred an automatic one-game suspension following his Game 1 ejection.
“We have to be ready. We’ve been in this situation before, we’ve played CSB without Janti, we had the opportunities to win,” head coach Yuri Escueta said.
“Sabi ko nga sa inyo, ang basketball ay 5-on-5. Hindi ’yan one-on-five. It would be nice to have Janti pero ’pag wala si Janti, the other guys need to step up,” he added./PN
