College of Saint Benilde snapped Lyceum of the Philippines University’s four-game winning streak, 100-88, to keep its top two hopes alive in the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Blazers improved to 12-4, solidifying their place at number two. On the other hand, the Pirates finished the eliminations with a 12-6 record.
Down by 13, 82-95, with only 2:07 left in the game, JM Bravo knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to 10, 85-95.
Mclaude Guadaña then was fouled by Oczon and split his given freebies to bring the Pirates to 86-95. However, Enoch Valdez answered Guadaña’s miss with a putback to get as close as seven, 88-95, with 1:01 left in the game.
The Pirates had many chances to cut the lead with under a minute remaining, but none of their shots fell.
Oczon then sank his given freebies to extend the Blazers’ lead to a 98-88 advantage with 37.8 left in the contest.
“It’s a big win for us – they’re a good team. They’ve been the best team all season long. They play very fast pace, so it was not easy an game.
“I was actually happy for the most the way we played until the last five minutes of the fourth. It’s probably my fault, I tried to let some guys play maybe a bit too early. If we lost, I probably would fire myself,” said Blazers head coach Charles Tiu.
“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,” he added.
Up by 9 at the start of the third frame, 49-40, CSB used a 25-13 run capped by Miggy Corteza’s shot to get a 21-point lead, 74-53, entering the payoff period.
The Blazers’ lead grew to its biggest 24 points off a Corteza triple from the wing with 55.3 left in the third period.
However, with Lyceum down by 20, 70-90, in the fourth frame, they answered back with a 12-5 run capped by a Valdez free throw to cut it to 13, 82-95, with 2:36 left.
Enzo Navarro then fouled out in the game with 50.9 left when he tried to steal the ball from an Oczon layup attempt.
It was a well-rounded performance for the Blazers since they had five players who finished in double digits. Gozum and Oczon both notched 18 points, with Gozum finishing a double-double on 9-of-12 shooting clip, alongside 11 rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Oczon added four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Corteza produced 13 markers, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. JC Cullar and Ladis Lepalam scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. The former also had two rebounds, four assists, and a steal, while the latter contributed seven rebounds and an assist.
Valdez paced the Pirates with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor, to go with five rebounds and a steal. Shawn Umali registered 17 points, four rebounds, and five blocks.
Bravo flirted a double-double of 15 points, nine rebounds, an assist, and two blocks. Guadaña, on the other hand, chipped in 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals.
The Scores:
Benilde 100 — Oczon 18, Gozum 18, Corteza 13, Cullar 11, Lepalam 10, Nayve 8, Marcos 7, Sangco 7, Carlos 5, Davis 2, Flores 1, Pasturan 0, Cajucom 0, Sumabat 0, Dimayuga 0.
Lyceum 88 –– Valdez 18, Umali 17, Bravo 15, Guadana 10, Montano 9, Cunanan 8, Navarro 5, Barba 5, Culanay 3, Larupay 0, Penafiel 0, Vinoya 0.
Quarterscores: 28-21, 49-40, 79-58, 100-88.
