With them facing elimination, Miggy Corteza was the one who provided a timely spark for College of Saint Benilde.
The Blazers faced a lead to went to as high as 14 points in the first half and a 45-34 at the half.
That’s when the former De La Salle Green Archer stepped up, firing 14 of Benilde’s 30 third quarter points to put Benilde in the driver’s seat, 64-59 at the end of the third canto.
“Very physical game. Ganon maglaro ang Letran, they want to take you out of the game.
“Pero sabi sa amin yung adjustment namin is to not pay attention sa mga tactics nila and physicality, maybe ayun yung isang reason on why we adjusted in today’s game. Also, we play physical din naman. Very physical game. Ganon maglaro ang Letran, they want to take you out of the game,” shared the 6-foot-4 forward out of Negros Occidental.
Corteza ended up being the x-factor needed by Benilde to stay alive.
After scoring 18 points but grabbing just two rebounds in Game One, Corteza finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, helping Benilde take a 76-71 win.
Of course, Corteza is just glad that they won’t be coming home just yet.
“Super big win kasi none of us really wanted to go home after this game. So super happy that we got this win and at the same time not contented kasi may Game Three pa,” said Corteza.
“We are happy with the win today but we don’t want to celebrate that much because we want to get back tomorrow and prepare for Letran in Game Three kasi I’m sure they’re gonna come out firing sa final game namin sa Sunday.”
Still, Corteza hopes that the high they are in right now would just fleet.
On Monday, it’s back to work again as they prepare for their long trek to Antipolo on Sunday.
“Brent [Praiso] almost killed us today. He is really a good player. Naging teammate ko siya sa DLSU when he was like in team B. I really knew na dati palang si Brent sa DLSU he was really good, hindi lang nabibigyan ng chance. And now napapakita na niya how good he is as a player,” he said.
“And ayun, nila [King] Caralipio, nila [Louie] Sangalang, they aren’t champions for no reason, they are really a good team. Letran is back-to-back because they trusted each other also tapos they play their ways,” he added.
