Janti Miller banged in 22 points as San Beda University pulled off an 68-58 win over bitter rival Letran College in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The 6-foot-4 Filipino-American guard went 8-of-14 from the field as the Red Lions took the top spot in Group B with two wins in as many games.
The Fairfield, California native didn’t mind coming off the bench as long as his number was called to hoop for the Mendiola-based squad.
“It doesn’t matter if I come off the bench or start. If I’m out there, it’s go time,” Miller said.
“So, whenever Coach Yuri (Escueta) can put me out there, and I’ll just go, that’s just our connection. So, it doesn’t really matter to me.”
Escueta still had to remind Miller to save up on ammo as the tournament is still in its early stages.
“As a coach, of course, it’s always nice to have a talent like Janti. I told him after the game to stay humble,” Escueta said.
“This season is still early, so I’m sure he’s going to see a lot more different kinds of defense. The best way to handle this is for him to stay grounded.”
Miller pulled off a crucial block on Mark Omega with 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter to protect San Beda’s 64-58 lead.
His dunk in the dying seconds of the game punctuated a personal four-point swing that sealed the game for the Lions.
Despite not fielding veterans Yukien Andrada due to a strained shoulder and RC Calimag due to back spasms, Escueta said the rest of the squad were more than ready to step up against the Knights.
“There’s really no extra motivation but every time you play Letran you know they’re a strong team that you really have to prepare for,” Escueta said.
“I even look at them (Knights) as an all-star team so I tip my hats off to my guys for playing defense.”
Bryan Sajonia was the only other Lion to reach double digits with 11 points.
Jonathan Manalili led Letran with 13 points as they suffered their second straight defeat in Season 101.
Earlier, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta took down Lyceum of the Philippines University, 73-61, for its second straight win.
Sophomore Mark Gojo Cruz dropped 18 points and grabbed four rebounds and four assists as the Altas now share top spot of Group A with defending champion Mapua University.
Perpetual head coach Olsen Racela reminded his boys the importance of defense.
“I have been constantly reminding them about defense. They want to stop a run by scoring but they need a stop on the defensive end,” Racela said.
“The scoring would be just a bonus for them.”
With Perpetual up, 67-49, with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, Lyceum went on a 12-0 run, capped with a triple from Jonathan Daileg, to cut the deficit to six.
That proved to be the Pirates’ last basket of the game as the Altas scored the last seven points to take the win.
