By: Miguel Marco
Janti Miller made sure his first taste of the NCAA’s fiercest rivalry would be unforgettable.
The Fil-Am rookie put on a show in his San Beda-Letran debut, delivering clutch plays on both ends to power the Red Lions past the Knights, 68-58, in the NCAA Season 101 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Miller finished with 20 points and five rebounds, but it was his late-game heroics that sealed the deal.
With just 50 seconds left and San Beda holding on to a six-point lead, Miller snuffed out a potential Knights rally by swatting away Mark Omega’s shot attempt.
On the very next possession, he put the game on ice with a strong driving layup that pushed the cushion to 66-58 with 33 seconds left.
The grind-it-out affair had both squads struggling to hit their stride offensively.
But San Beda found enough firepower behind Miller and a timely triple from Penny Estacio midway through the fourth quarter, building a 60-50 cushion they would not relinquish.
Bryan Sajonia added 11 points, while Jimmy Reyes and Bismarck Lina chipped in six each. Zed Etulle made up for a rough shooting night by anchoring the defense with 12 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
The Red Lions also owned the glass, outrebounding Letran 51-36 and converting 13 second-chance points — a testament to the effort praised by head coach Yuri Escueta.
“I’m very happy. Hopefully, we play like this every time. Yung effort namin defensively, how we followed the gameplan and how we controlled the rebounding, that’s all effort,” said Escueta.
The victory improved San Beda to 2-0 in the tough Group B bracket.
San Beda turns its sights to Jose Rizal University on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Manalili led Letran with 13 points, six assists, and two steals, while Deo Cuajao added 10 in his return from illness.
Letran fell to 0-2 in Group B and will try to avoid a deeper hole when it battles College of St. Benilde on Wednesday.
The Scores:
San Beda 68 – Miller 22, Sajonia 11, Lina 6, Reyes 6, Gonzales 5, Celzo 5, Etulle 4, Estacio 3, Puno 2, Bonzalida 2, Culdora 2, Songcuya 0, Jalbuena 0
Letran 58 – Manalili 13, Cuajao 10, Rosilio 7, Buensalida 6, Estrada 5, Omega 5, Santos 4, Roque 4, Tapenio 3, Gazzingan 1, Gammad 0
Quarterscores: 22-18, 37-34, 53-45, 68-58
