THERE are a lot of things to be excited about for San Beda fans, especially after its impressive 96-85 win over preseason favorite St. Benilde in the opener of the NCAA Season 101 on Wednesday at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Looking at this game, there are at least two big reasons for the Red Lions and their faithful - and they go by the names of Janti Miller and Jimmy Reyes.
The two prized recruits of the red-and-white balled out in their opening win, with Miller finishing with 16 points and six rebounds, while Reyes added 13 points and five rebounds on ultra-efficient 75-percent shooting as the lead guard.
READ: San Beda sends statement by toppling fancied Benilde in opener
Coach Yuri Escueta certainly likes what he sees.
“Having the firepower ni Janti at Jimmy, yung experience nila, it helps a lot,” Escueta said.
“At least kumakalat yung scoring. We have guys that can shoot aside from Yuki [Andrada], we have guys that can create also.”
While the champion NCAA coach has no doubt on the capabilities of the pair, there were reservations with how they’d react to playing in a historic venue like the Big Dome, as well as a huge crowd in the opener.
They aced that test with flying colors.
“Pinaka-proud ako of them is how they handled yung first game nila. Yun ang worry ko before the game on how they’d handle their first game, especially here in Araneta,” he said. “Proud ako with how they played today.”
Janti’s dope
Miller admitted that they were indeed nerves coming into this game – but with the help of his coaches, he was able to settle down and perform what’s expected of him.
“I was kind of nervous, me and Jimmy were talking about it (first game). It’s just a blessing to come out here and get our first win, especially against St. Benilde,” he said.
“Coach Yuri and coach Andrei [Santos], I was asking them what it’s like to play against them and in this crowd, especially since they beat us last year, so it’s gonna be a rivalry game,” he added.
“It’s gonna be real competitive, real aggressive, they just said to stay composed and get ready for this game and that’s what I did.”
While he knows there are a lot of things for him to improve on – he’s giving himself a perfect score in his debut simply because he helped his team get the win in their opener.
As he put it, “That’s a five for me, I don’t like how I played but the important thing’s we got the win."
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