College of Saint Benilde entered the second round of the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament as the top dog.
And they deserved it after going 8-1 — only losing to defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
Were the Blazers — who have yet to make the Final Four for the last two decades — finally turning a new leaf?
Well, Charles Tiu thinks otherwise, especially after CSB experienced an embarrassing 80-75 loss to erstwhile-winless Emilio Aguinaldo College on Sunday.
And Tiu has had enough.
“I’ve been too nice on these guys. I let them get away with a lot of things, give them a lot of freedom, and when you give that freedom, you expect a responsibility sabi ni Spiderman ba yun,” said the youthful head coach, trying to muster a smile after the loss.
“But they haven’t been – I think they’ve been abusing our kindness. So yeah ganon talaga.”
Fuming were Tiu and his staff that after the game, they made the Blazers do running drills on the court of the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
VICTORY AND DEFEAT
As EAC celebrated its first win, CSB ran suicides on the court#NCAASeason98
📹Paolo Trinidad/Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/CWSGzM5OGY
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) October 16, 2022
Moreover, this is not the first time the Blazers gave a “losing team” its first triumph in a tournament.
It was just six months ago when Jose Rizal University got its first win in Season 97 at the expense of them.
Yes, it’s a recurring problem.
“I mean, I have no problems losing, but I have problems when you don’t play the game the right way. And when you don’t have the same effort if you wanna disrespect our culture, then if you wanna play that way; then yeah, they’ll be ready to accept the consequences,” he continued.
“Our guys think we’re all something, but we haven’t achieved anything. So it’s a good lesson for them to learn. And, I told them at the end of the day, it’s for themselves. I want them all to succeed.”
Entering the game, the Generals were eighth in the league in rebounding at just 45.11 per game. Meanwhile, the Blazers were holding the league’s top offense, shooting 41.92-percent from the field.
But in the game itself, CSB allowed EAC to haul 50 boards while shooting just 35.6-percent from the field.
Usual suspects Migs Oczon and Miggy Corteza were also missing in the game with the former going just 1-of-12 from the field for six points while the latter only grabbed four rebounds with his eight points.
“Well, I give them credit. That’s why I’ve always been worried to play teams that are on a losing streak. They have nothing to lose; they play a little bit harder. They said they’re better than the record,” said the Ateneo product about the coaching of Oliver Bunyi.
“But, the problem is really with us. We didn’t have the effort, the guys think they’re all that, but we haven’t even accomplished anything. I’m very disappointed with how we played.”
Still, the Blazers need to get their acts together in the homestretch of the tournament.
“I’m tired of everybody saying all the right things, but when you go out there you don’t do it. So sometimes you just have to do it. Hindi tayo pwede puro salita,” he said.
“We’ve seen CSB collapse so many times, and anything can happen. See how evenly matched the teams are. So if they think they’re gonna make that final four, even get to the championship, they have a long way to go, and that’s we’re nowhere near that level. So we have to shape up, and figure things out,” he continued.
“I mean this basketball for me its just a hobby, I just want to help this guys reach their goals. So they have to play the game the right way, if they don’t to do it the right way, then that’s on them.”
