By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Ilonggo guard John Bryan Sajonia made an impressive debut in the NCAA Season 100 Seniors Men’s Basketball Tournament after steering the San Beda Red Lions to a lopsided 79-63 victory over the Lyceum Pirates on September 7, 2024, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The former superstar of the Santa Clarita International School of Iloilo led San Beda in scoring, dropping 18 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Yuri Escueta-mentored squad.
After getting his number called midway through the first quarter, Sajonia immediately made an impact and torched Lyceum with his hot shooting from the three-point line.
The versatile combo guard already exploded for 12 markers in the first two quarters of the ball game and became the reason why the Red Lions were able to balloon their lead to 20 points.
Despite Lyceum trimming their 20-point deficit to just four points courtesy of strong efforts from their veterans, Sajonia once again spearheaded a San Beda counter-run to extend their cushion back to double digits at the end of the half.
Sajonia continued to find the bottom of the net in the second half, adding six more points to his tally to cap off a strong debut for the title-seeking San Beda school.
After a massive effort to chip away their deficit in the second quarter, the Pirates suddenly went flat in the second half after the Red Lions built their lead to as much as 23 points.
Savvy center Yukien Andrada backstopped Sajonia with a dominant outing of 13 points and six rebounds while the athletic Jomel Puno chipped in six markers and nine rebounds.
Nygel Gonzales was also an unsung hero for the Red Lions as the stalwart contributed an all-around performance of five points, eight boards, and three dimes.
