Knights wary of Sajonia-Miller tandem

Letran College braces for a tough battle against bitter rival San Beda University in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

Knights head coach Allen Ricardo said after their 85-71 win over Jose Rizal University said that Red Lions Bryan Sajonia and Janti Miller are marked men as they set up a rematch on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Jimboy Estrada led Letran with 20 points against the Heavy Bombers.

“We need to take it one game at a time. San Beda played well yesterday versus Saint Benilde, so we need to limit them especially against Sajonia and Miller,” Ricardo said.

“Those are the key factors why we lost our first meeting. We still need to understand what they’re doing.”

Letran lost to San Beda, 68-58, last 5 October and was part of its three-game slump at the start of the season.

Since then, the Knights won six of their next seven games and seemed to have no plans of slowing down.

With San Beda taking the top spot of Group A with a 7-3 win-loss record and Letran sitting in the third spot with a 6-4 slate, expect no less than a shootout between one of the most storied rivals in collegiate basketball.

Miller has been a revelation as he is the only Lion to average double digits with 19 points after 10 games while Sajonia has 9.63 points after eight matches.

Meanwhile, Estrada has been leading the charge for the Knights, averaging 14.44 points while Deo Cuajao had 13.78 points.

Rookie guard Jonathan Manalili almost had a double-double average with 13.2 points and 9.1 assists for Letran.