MANILA – College of St. Benilde Blazers mounted a late-game rally to defeat San Beda University Red Lions, 70-62, in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball on Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan.
Trailing 56-60 with over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Blazers got an inside basket from Allen Liwag and a three-pointer from Justine Sanchez to edge ahead, 61-60.
San Beda took the lead back at 62-61 courtesy of a Penny Estacio hit, but CSB responded with conversions from Liwag and Gab Cometa for a 65-62 before icing the win with a Jhomel Ancheta triple.
Ancheta led the way for the Blazers with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while Liwag had a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds as they improved to a 14-3 record.
Sanchez and Winston Ynot, both formerly with the Red Lions, also made their presence felt for the Blazers with 13 and 10 markers, respectively.
“We really prepared well. San Beda is a really good team. We’ve been neck-and-neck with them all season long. We barely escaped them the first time we played this season,” Blazers head coach Charles Tiu said after the game.
John Bismarck Lina top-scored with 17 points, while James Payosing and Yukien Andrada added 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the reigning champion Red Lions dropped to 10-7.
Meanwhile, Mapua University Cardinals secured a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four with a dominant 95-79 victory over the San Sebastian College Golden Stags.
Yam Concepcion led the charge with 18 points, five assists, five rebounds, three steals, and one block, helping the Cardinals secure the semifinals advantage with a 14-3 win-loss record.
Rookie Chris Hubilla and John Christopher Recto added 17 markers apiece, while Joaquin Garcia contributed 14 markers for the Cardinals, which led by as many as 32 points in the win./PN
