Miguel Oczon and College of St. Benilde torched San Beda University late, racking up a 78-69 victory in the first round NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Oczon was unstoppable in the payoff period scoring 11 points while not missing a single bucket, 4-for-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from deep.
Down by two, 63-61, with under five minutes left, Oczon knocked down a booming triple followed by a Miggy Corteza bucket to boost their lead to three, 66-63.
Oczon launched another triple right at the 3:20 mark before a JB Bahio basket and Justine Sanchez split a free throw to cut the deficit to three, 66-69.
However, that was the closest they could get as JC Cullar answered back with a bucket of his own before Oczon nailed the dagger with 51.9 ticks left to get the 74-66 advantage.
“It was nice to see them show their composure down the stretch. I mean didn’t even plan to call the timeouts to let them figure it out on their own,” said CSB head coach Charles Tiu.
Oczon finished with 19 points, a rebound, and an assist; while Will Gozum provided 16 markers, 10 boards, and two assists.
Miguel Corteza and Robi Nayve added 11 and 10 markers apiece.
James Kwekuteye’s 28-point performance went for naught. He also added eight markers, a rebound, two steals, and a block.
This was the Blazers’ first win against the Red Lions since their 83-76 win in Season 90 back in 2014.
The Blazers are still at the top of the standings at 7-1, while the Red Lions dropped to 5-3.
Next for St. Benilde is the hot streaking Jose Rizal University (5-2) on Friday at 12 NN. San Beda on the other hand will face University of Perpetual Help System DALTA on Wednesday, at 3 PM.
The Scores:
Benilde (78) — Oczon 19, Gozum 16, Corteza 11, Nayve 10, Carlos 5, Cullar 4, Sangco 4, Lepalam 4, Pasturan 3, Marcos 2, Flores 0, Cajucom 0.
San Beda (69) — Kwekuteye 28, Cometa 10, Bahio 9, Ynot 8, Sanchez 5, Alfaro 3, Andrada 2, Cortez 2, Payosing 2, Jopia 0, Visser 0, Cuntapay 0.
Quarterscores: 17-14, 37-31, 51-49, 78-69.
