After securing a playoff spot, College of Saint Benilde head coach Charles Tiu survived a comeback scare against Lyceum of the Philippines University on Friday.
In the end, though, the Blazers won against the Pirates in a 100-88 victory.
Still, Tiu admitted that he regrets his decision to relax in the fourth quarter by bringing in the second stringers. Had they lost, it would have been a huge blunder that he would carry for the team.
“It’s a big win for us – they’re a good team. They’ve been the best team all season long. They play [at a] very fast pace, so it was not an easy game. I was actually happy for the most the way we played until the last five minutes of the fourth,” shared Tiu moments after their win.
“But, I was just a bit disappointed with how the game ended. I wanted to give the guys a chance to give them an opportunity to play some meaningful minutes, and it was not a good ending for us. But, I’m still happy. We still pulled away with the win.
Indeed, it was a huge turnaround in the last five minutes of the game. The Pirates were able to get as close as seven off an Enoch Valdez putback with 1:01 left in the game.
But the Blazers already had a big lead at the start of the fourth frame with 24-points, 77-53, courtesy of a Miggy Corteza triple in the wing with 55.3 left in the third period.
Still, Tiu said that he wanted to give his other players a chance to see the limelight. But given that the second string didn’t perform how he wanted, he hopes it’ll be a learning moment for future games.
“Hopefully, these guys will not be afraid of the big moments in the playoffs. Because in the past, guys tend to shy away from the big moment, so we need to find players who are willing to step up when the lights are shining brightest,” the young head coach said.
“Well as I said, if we lose, I probably fire myself from this job right? But we still came up with the win, so it’s okay. But it’s a good learning experience for these guys. And now I could get on them even more and use it to teach them that you can’t take any minutes for granted.
“Especially, when you’re being trusted to play in a big game like this, no matter what the score is. It’s hard to get minutes, and I wanna… If up to me, I just let all the main guys play as much as I want. But I want to try to give guys a chance, and they didn’t perform as simple as that? And I hope they learn from it,” he continued.
The Blazers have solidified their spot at number two of the standings with a 12-4 record. But Tiu remains disappointed that the no.1 team in the standings, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, lost to archrival San Beda University last Wednesday.
CSB lost to Letran twice but beat San Beda in the first round of elimination. Tiu was rooting for a Knights win to avoid a playoff if CSB loses to San Beda in their last game.
Regardless, Tiu will not rest easy as they will wait for the next schedule for a rematch on San Beda. The Red Lions hold a 12-5 win-loss record, and they are hungry to go back up against the Blazers.
“I don’t know, because if we end up tied, I believe they’re number one. I actually was kinda upset that they lost to San Beda. And I was praying hard that they would win, take care of their business so we would not have to have a playoff if we lose to San Beda,” he explained.
“But it is what it is. To us, whether it’s one or two, it’s not really important. But what’s important is to get that twice to beat advantage. So, I hope somebody beats San Beda these next few days, even before we play them.”
