By: Miguel Caramoan
College of Saint Benilde came into the NCAA Season 101 quarterfinals riding one of the league’s most potent offenses, averaging 79.2 points per game. But when it mattered most, that firepower vanished.
The Blazers managed just 58 points on a chilling 27.4% shooting night, a steep drop from their season-long 42.4% clip over 13 games. From tip-off, their offense struggled to find rhythm, pace, or confidence against Mapua’s composed, suffocating defense.
“Well, we didn’t play well. I thought, as usual, pag Mapua parang takot yung mga boys for some reason,” said Benilde coach Charles Tiu.
“We just didn’t show up to play and disappointing – larong takot. Parang duwag yung mga players namin today eh.”
The offensive woes were mirrored in the performance of the Blazers’ stars. Reigning MVP Allen Liwag never found his footing, hampered by early foul trouble and capped by an unsportsmanlike foul that highlighted his frustrations.
Tony Ynot went 3-of-12, while Justine Sanchez endured one of his toughest games, shooting 2-of-13 as Mapua’s defense smothered every drive and contest.
Turnovers, a recurring weakness for Benilde, resurfaced at the worst possible moment. The Blazers gave the ball away 15 times, allowing Mapua to convert those errors into 16 points and seize control of the game.
“We kept throwing the ball away, exactly everything that we talked about not to do with how Mapua beat us happened. We turn the ball over like that – it’s mental, they got into our heads, and got frustrated and could not keep our composure,” Tiu added.
Compounding the problem was early foul trouble for Liwag and Shaun Umali in the first quarter. With both interior anchors sidelined, Benilde lost its physical presence inside, giving Mapua dominance in the paint.
Drex Delos Reyes spearheaded a first-half surge, helping Mapua win the inside battle 32-16.
“That was definitely big. It’s hard to play with our two best big men. We wanted to play them more pero we couldn’t even play them and got early fouls. Part of it was their fault, they need to stay more disciplined,” Tiu said.
“No excuses for us, and we didn’t play well.”
Now, the Blazers face a harsh reality: a do-or-die rematch against Mapua with a Final Four spot on the line on Friday.
“We worked hard to be in this position, and now we’re going to use this second game if we want to get past them,” Tiu said.
“We have to play better because if we play this, we’re going home early and soon.”
