College of St. Benilde racked up its second win in the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament, picking apart San Sebastian College-Recoletos with a 100-94 victory, Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Only leading by eight to enter the second half, 46-38, Miguel Oczon came alive in the third quarter scoring 20 of his 25 points.
The Blazers breakaway from the game for a while after scoring 35. They then earned a 81-62 advantage entering the payoff period.
San Sebastian, though, was able to cut it to as close as five, 94-99, capped by an Ichie Altamirano bucket.
However, that was the closest it could get. Will Gozum split his free throws for the dagger, 100-94, with 51-ticks left.
“I think in the fourth quarter, we relaxed. We already had a big lead, and there’s a tendency, I guess. And you’re up big, you’re thinking that the game’s gonna be over, you’re just trying to run the clock out,” said CSB’s analytics coach Paolo Layug.
He added, “And San Sebastian got some stops, we took some bad shots. They’ve really out and run, get some easy layups.”
In the third quarter, Rhinwill Yambing was carried off the court after stepping on the foot of Mark Sangco right at the 2:28-mark.
The three-headed monsters of Oczon, Gozum and Migs Corteza paved the way for the Blazers.
Oczon finished with 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Gozum had 23 markers and four boards, while Corteza added 18 points, three rebounds, and three dimes.
On the other hand, for the Stags, Romel Calahat led his team with 21 markers, eight boards and a block. Altamirano added 16 markers, three boards, three dimes, and two swipes.
CSB (2-0) will play University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (1-1) on Tuesday at 12:00 NN. Meanwhile, SSC-R (1-1) will look to bounce back against Mapua University (1-1) on Sunday, 3:00 PM.
The Scores:
CSB (100) — Oczon 25, Gozum 23, Corteza 18, Cullar 11, Pasturan 8, Nayve 4, Lepalam 4, Carlos 4, Sangco 3, Flores 0, Mara 0, Marcos 0.
SSC-R (94) — Calahat 21, Altamirano 16, Villapando 10, Desoyo 9, Are 8, Sumoda 7, Escobido 5, Shanoda 5, Yambing 5, Una 3, Cosari 2, Suico 2, Felebrico 1, Concha 0.
Quarterscores: 28-20, 46-38, 81-62, 100-94
