By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Ilonggo hoops star John Bryan Sajonia had ice in his veins after draining the biggest three-pointer of the game during the San Beda Red Lions’ thrilling win over the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 66-64, in the ongoing NCAA Season 100 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The former main gunner of the Sta. Clarita International School of Iloilo buried the go-ahead trifecta that gave the Red Lions a 66-64 lead with only 44 seconds remaining in the mano-a-mano NCAA clasico rivalry match.
Trailing 63-64, San Beda called a timeout after Letran’s Jimboy Estrada converted on a sweet floater down the lane.
San Beda then countered back with an offensive play involving Jomel Puno and Sajonia as the duo played a 2-man game that freed the Ilonggo at the top of the key.
With no hesitation, Sajonia quickly fired the long-ranged rainbow bomb after seeing little separation, which proved to be the biggest shot converted by San Beda in the crucial game.
The Knights had the chance to tie or win the game but shooter Deo Cuajao forced a rushed three-point attempt in the final 0.8 seconds.
Despite struggling all game long with a 3/12 shooting from the field, San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta instilled big-time trust in Sajonia who quickly paid it off.
Sajonia only finished with eight markers but his clutch three-point shot won the game for the Red Lions to avoid another disappointing loss in their NCAA title defense campaign.
Meanwhile, Puno, San Beda’s athletic power forward, led the way for the defending champs after exploding for a career-high 22 points derived from 8/14 shooting.
It was one of the most impressive wins for the Red Lions after trailing by as much as 10 points when Letran pulled away with a momentum-shifting scoring run in the third.
However, the Red Lions’ championship DNA rose to the occasion as they struck back in the fourth, kicking their comeback rally with several defensive stops.
“Actually, yung sinabi ko sa players, wag namin isipin yon, kung ano yong resulta kapag natalo. Masyado kasi silang nagwoworry. Big win for us. The boys grinded out, talagang gusto nila manalo today,” said San Beda head coach Escueta after the huge victory.
