Banner no. 24 is now up in Mendiola.
San Beda University swept longtime rival Colegio de San Juan de Letran despite an undermanned unit, pulling off a 83-71 win in Game 2 of the NCAA Season 101 finals on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Even without their top scorer Janti Miller, sidelined by a one-game suspension after his ejection in the series opener last Wednesday, the Red Lions pulled off the magic as San Beda now hoists its 24th overall crown—the most in NCAA history.
Without their main weapon, several heroes answered the call for the Red Lions.
Graduating team captain Yuki Andrada led yet another third-quarter surge to finish with 21 points while fellow senior Bryan Sajonia churned out 21 markers as well, including the dagger three-pointer late in the fourth.
Nygel Gonzales was also huge with 19 points, including the last seven points, while Jomel Puno poured 14 rebounds, six assists, and seven points as the quartet now became two-time NCAA champions.
Down two at the half, the Red Lions flipped the switch in the third, similar to what they did in the series opener.
Andrada was responsible for that as the pro-bound forward dropped 12 points in that period by unloading three three-pointers while Puno knocked down his own long bomb as the Red Lions saw themselves enjoying a 65-43 advantage ahead of the fourth.
Letran would threaten a comeback behind a Jun Roque triple and a Jimboy Estrada jumper to open the payoff period to pull the Knights within five, 60-65.
San Beda, though, had the answer to every Letran rally.
Andrada fired another triple while Gonzales, touted as the best point guard by head coach Yuri Escueta, completed a three-point play to make it a 73-64 cushion with 3:40 left.
That was basically it with Sajonia shooting down the dagger, burying the isolation three-pointer over the defense of Kevin Santos before Gonzales sank seven straight free throws to seal the championship.
Four Knights reached double-digit scoring with Titing Manalili dropping 15 points, seven assists, and six rebounds while Kevin Santos chipped in 14 markers.
Roque and Jimboy Estrada chimed in with 12 and 10 markers apiece.
Scores:
San Beda 83 – Andrada 21, Sajonia 21, Gonzales 19, Puno 7, Celzo 6, Estacio 6, Reyes 3, Lina 0, Etulle 0, Calimag 0.
Letran 71 – Manalili 15, Santos 14, Roque 12, Estrada 10, Cuajao 8, Buensalida 5, Tapenio 3, Omega 2, Montecillo 2.
Quarters: 14-19, 37-39, 65-53, 83-71.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
