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San Beda University turned to seniors Bryan Sajonia and Agjanti Miller in escaping De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 96-85, in the NCAA Season 101 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Sajonia and Miller both posted 16 points with the latter grabbing six rebounds off the bench as the Red Lions fended off a late Blazers rally led by reigning MVP Allen Liwag to go 1-0 in Group B despite missing the services of high flyer Jomel Puno.
"In-expect naman namin 'yun every time na you're playing a team like Benilde na kahit na you have the lead, hindi sila susuko. Sabi ko sa kanila, we have to slow down a little bit and be more composed," San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta said.
"Good thing 'yung free throws namin na-shoot namin today. So malaking bagay 'yun."
The tight affair was a huge test for San Beda, which fell to the same team in last year's Final Four to end its title defense bid.
Enjoying a slim three-point lead at the half, the Red Lions caught fire outside with Yukien Andrada and rookie Jimmy Reyes combining for three triples in that frame to stretch the lead to 10 before the fourth, 71-61.
Another Andrada three-pointer sent San Beda to a 76-63 cushion early in the payoff period while a Sajonia floater sent them to a huge 86-69 advantage halfway through.
But the Blazers refused to quit and staged a wild fightback that saw Liwag firing a rare long bomb then following it up with a personal 5-0 rampage, cutting the deficit to six in the final 1:!4, 85-91.
San Beda, though, stayed composed in the endgame with Sajionia and Miller sinking the last four freebies to close out the game and douse Benilde's comeback attempt.
Andrada atoned for a scoreless first half outing and tallied 11 points while Reyes shone in his NCAA debut with 13 markers, four rebounds, and three assists on a starter role.
The loss spoiled the 24-point performance from Justine Sanchez as Liwag still posted a double-double effort of 12 points and 12 rebounds despite a shaky season debut.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
