SAN BEDA WINS THE NCAA SEASON 101 TITLE!!!

The San Beda Red Lions claimed their 24th NCAA Men’s Seniors basketball title by outclassing the Letran Knights, 83–71.

Letran came out firing, but San Beda slowly reeled them in during the second quarter before completely losing it, in a good way, during the third.

No Janti Miller? No problem.

Watching the game via livestream, I normally can’t stand fan trolling. But maybe it’s because of this rivalry’s long, messy history that I enjoyed every spam post, every insult, and every borderline inappropriate remark flying across my screen.

I’ll admit, I initially wanted Letran to take Game 1. But somewhere along the way, maybe because I’m a UST Growling Tiger at heart, and one more game means one more round of writing, it dawned on me that I actually wanted San Beda to win the championship.

And they did, because Bryan Sajonia turned into a full-on bully every time he attacked the rim, Yukien Andrada morphed into the season’s best Ryan Anderson-style stretch big, and Nygel Gonzales looked like a runaway truck with no brakes.

We also finally got the superstar version of Jomel Puno we barely saw early in the season while he was recovering from injury, and Penny Estacio snapped out of whatever funk he was in.

And yes, Bedan fans, that joke about Jacob Cortez being traded for Estacio? I won’t say if it’s fair, but Estacio delivered when it mattered.

Credit also goes to coach Yuri Escueta for slapping that “best PG” tag on Gonzales. That single statement seemed to unlock Gonzales’ final form, almost as if Janti Miller had been holding him back. Gonzales bullied his way inside, absorbed contact, and simply overpowered everyone, especially in the fourth quarter.

I was expecting a classic Sajonia versus Jimboy Estrada duel, but the real difference maker was Andrada torching Letran from deep while Deo Cuajao struggled. Cuajao eventually found his rhythm in the second half, but by then, the Knights already looked demoralized. Jun Roque stepped in to help Estrada during his scoring drought, and Kevin Santos did his part as well, though he was eventually outworked on the boards by Puno, but the San Beda scoring barrage proved too much.

Simply put, San Beda was just stronger.

Once again, Escueta deserves his flowers. While Allen Ricardo experimented with ways to disrupt the Red Lions, including that Game 1 starting five gamble, Escueta had a straightforward solution to his Titing Manalili problem. Yes, Manalili led Letran with 15 points, but the broadcast dropped two crucial nuggets. Anton Roxas noted that whenever Manalili racks up 10 assists or more, Letran was 7–0 this season. He finished with just seven, only two of which came in the second half. Enzo Navarro then pointed out that San Beda was practically daring Manalili to shoot from outside. Roxas capped it by mentioning Manalili was shooting below 15 percent from three.

That pressure showed. With his teammates struggling, Manalili forced drives, settled for unreliable long bombs, and eventually cramped up late in the game. A troll joked that the NCAA MVP curse struck again, referencing Juniors MVP Sean Franco of the Arellano Braves losing the title a couple of hours ago to the Letran Squires, but maybe carrying the “best PG” label is even heavier.

I’ve seen Manalili battle for championships in the juniors alongside Allen Ricardo, and the likes of Andy Gemao, George Diamante, and Joven Baliling. This was the first time I saw him break down and lose on this stage. If he wants to take the next step, both for Letran and his pro stock, he has to develop a consistent outside shot. That flaw slowed Scottie Thompson early in his PBA career and may have contributed to Boyet Bautista’s underwhelming stint.

On the flip side, this championship run should elevate San Beda’s pro bound trio. Yukien Andrada should carve out minutes as Magnolia’s resident stretch big, reuniting with Peter Alfaro and fellow Bedan Rome dela Rosa. Titan Ultra snagging Bryan Sajonia in the fourth round is an absolute steal. While many pro bound players saw their numbers dip, Sajonia’s actually rose, and Titan just acquired a plug and play scorer.

As for Joe Celzo, I think he’ll stick in the PBA, either as a late pickup this season, or an eventual pickup as he develop his skills in the MPBL. Yes, he went unsigned by TNT after being picked late, but he knows his role. He rebounds, defends, and does the dirty work. He won’t turn into a JB Bahio, but he could be a more agile version of Cliff Jopia or Damie Cuntapay, late picks who survived because of effort and consistency.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Season 102 will tell the real story. Janti Miller’s cryptic social media post is enough to stress out Bedan fans, but if he stays, San Beda remains the title favorite. A starting five of Miller, Gonzales, Puno, Lina, and either Estacio, Zed Etulle, or former UP Fighting Maroon Sean Alduos Torculas is terrifying.

They’ll face stiff competition from Letran, an intact Arellano squad, and a JRU team boosted by former Mapua championship starters Chris Hubilla and Lawrence Mangubat, but San Beda has more than enough answers.

So congratulations to the San Beda Red Lions. The trophy is back in Mendiola, right where they believe it belongs.