Lions devour Knights to move on cusp of NCAA crown
MANILA, Philippines — One down for the San Beda Red Lions.
San Beda inched closer to the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball title after mauling the Letran Knights, 89-70, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Red Lions pulled away in the third quarter, shutting down Letran with just five points, to grab the runaway victory and the 1-0 edge.
After the game, San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta said that while he is happy with the way his team played, they need to fix their turnovers, which led Letran to close in during the early goings of the game.
“I was happy with how we played defense at the start of the game and at the start of the third quarter. But, we have to be better at taking care of the ball because we’re giving them opportunities to score,” he said.
“It’s hard to play good defense if you’re careless with the ball. So, we have to adjust to the physicality if that’s how Letran’s going to play, kailangan matuto kamign mag-adjust.”
Bryan Sajonia carried the offensive load with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists in almost 20 minutes of play. Janti MIller produced 16 markers, nine boards and two dimes before exiting the game after getting slapped with two technical fouls.
San Beda started off red-hot, leading by double digits as early as the first quarter.
Letran, though, made it a one-point game, 45-46, to kick off the third frame. But a massive 22-3 demolition the rest of the period broke the game wide open, 68-48.
The lead grew to as much as 22 points, 70-48, as the Knights played catchup. The nearest they got to was 14 points, 58-72, after a layup by Kevin Santos.
Nygel Gonzales chipped in 14 points for the winning team, while Jimmy Reyes and Penny Estacio had eight apiece.
Titing Manalili showcased his two-way prowess with 17 points, five assists, two rebounds and four steals before fouling out after 28 minutes and 40 seconds of action.
Jimboy Estrada and June Roque produced 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Lions will try to sit atop the throne once on Saturday’s Game 2, 2 p.m., at the same venue.
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