The roar is growing louder.
San Beda University uncorked a huge third-quarter avalanche to stun rival Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 89-70, in Game 1 of their NCAA Season 101 best-of-three finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Red Lions dropped 22 points in that frame while limiting the Knights to just five, building a massive 68-48 cushion with still a quarter left. San Beda never relinquished the lead even after star rookie Janti Miller’s ejection midway through the fourth for a second infraction of a technical foul.
Before exiting the game, Miller was still able to put up 16 points laced with nine rebounds and two assists while Bryan Sajonia and Nygel Gonzales supplied the offense with 17 and 14 markers.
Gonzales, who was called the best point guard in the league by San Beda coach Yuri Escueta, backed up some of his mentor’s words by also collecting five assists, two rebounds, and one steal all while also defending his counterpart Titing Manalili.
With the blowout win, the Red Lions now moved a win away from their second title in three years and 24th crown overall.
"We just have to take better shots and take care of the ball, 'yung 'yung sinabi namin nu'ng nagusap kami sa halftime. We just needed to simplify things, be more composed, just be stronger," Escueta said.
"Good thing 'yung half-court defense namin held up in the third quarter."
San Beda came out the gate firing, immediately capitalizing on Letran’s gamble to open the game with its bench unit instead of its usual starting roster as the likes of Sajonia, Gonzales, and Miller conspired for a 29-19 start.
The Knights then mounted a rally in the second, with Jun Roque sparking the fightback with 10 points in the period to pull Letran to within three at the halftime break.
The Red Lions, however, broke the game open for good with an explosive third-quarter surge.
Miller and Jomel Puno fired back-to-back triples to cap off an 18-4 run that sent San Beda to a 64-47 cushion before Penny Estacio beat the quarter buzzer with a long bomb of his own as they zoomed to a 68-48 advantage.
That was basically it as both teams saw several of their players exit the floor in the endgame due to fouls and ejections.
Sajonia fouled out with 7:46 remaining in the fourth, and Miller was ejected shortly after, incurring a second technical at the 6:14 mark.
Letran’s Manalili also fouled out after picking up a technical for faking a foul with 5:21 left, followed by big man Aaron Buensalida, who fouled out at 3:43.
Manalili still top-scored with 17 points in only 28 minutes of action while Jimboy Estrada and Roque chipped in 14 and 12 markers each.
Both teams now gear up for Game 2 on Saturday with San Beda hoping to finish off the series while Letran will seek to extend it to a deciding Game 3.
WATCH NCAA:
The scores:
San Beda 89 - Sajonia 17, Miller 16, Gonzales 14, Reyes 8, Estacio 8, Calimag 7, Puno 6, Celzo 6, Andrada 5, Lina 2, Etulle 0.
Letran 70 - Manalili 17, Estrada 14, Roque 12, Santos 6, Gammad 6, Omega 4, Cuajao 2, Buensalida 2, Tapenio 2, Montecillo 2, Yusi 2, Gazzingan 1, Rosilio 0.
Quarters: 29-19, 46-43, 68-48, 89-70.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
