In the chippiest game of the season so far, the College of Saint Benilde Blazers got the much-needed breaks to continue their mastery over the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas, 75-63, Tuesday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“It was chippy out there, it was rough. Well, I guess that’s how playoff games are. We have a 2-0 start, we are hoping to get momentum from this,” said CSB head coach TY Tang, who owns a 5-0 record against Perpetual.
A total of 57 fouls were called in the contest. But almost a fourth of it came at the expense of Perpetual in the last 4:38 of the game.
Storming back from 15 down and cutting the lead to just five during that time, Tonton Peralta fouled Carlo Young that sent Perpetual to the red zone.
What came after was a bevy of whistles against the Altas.
With 4:17 left, Perpetual was whistled for three straight fouls in a span of just a few seconds.
After Ben Adamos was slapped with his fifth foul, Jielo Razon was called for a couple of over-the-back-fouls that resulted to three Benilde points.
Later on, Peralta and Kim Aurin were also handed their exit.
All in all, Perpetual was called for 13 fouls in the final frame while handing 14 free throws in the last four minutes that led to its first loss in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball tournament.
“It’s part of our culture. We want to stay physical but we want to make sure that when things get chippy, we can be mentally tough,” said Tang. “It’s not only now that we have had games like these. There were games where things got physical. Good thing that we were cooler than the other team.”
Carlo Young played a huge part in Benilde’s third-quarter surge, scoring nine of his 14 points in the frame.
“That was one big part for our win. Yan dapat yung role niya. He’s a sniper for our team,” Tang remarked about Young. “First game namin, he had good lucks but it could not find the whole. This time, pumasok naman.”
Kendrix Belgica added 12 points while Justin Gutang glued things together with nine points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists.
Clement Leutcheu also made his season debut, finishing with six points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of game time.
Razon paced Perpetual with 15 points while Aurin added 12 markers. Adamos grabbed 10 boards as well.
CSB will next face the EAC Generals on Tuesday, July 23 at 4:00 pm. Perpetual, on the other hand, takes on Letran on Friday, July 19 at 12:00 pm.
The Scores:
CSB 75 – Young 14, Belgica 12, Gutang 9, Dixon 8, Flores 7, Leutcheu 7, Naboa 6, Pasturan 5, Carlos 4, Sangco 4, Lepalam 0
UPHSD 63 – Razon 15, Aurin 12, Charcos 8, Peralta 8, Adamos 6, Cuevas 5, Sevilla 4, Egan 3, Tamayo 2, Barasi 0, Giussani 0, Lanoy 0, Martel 0, Lucero 0
Quarterscores: 14-18, 26-33, 49-41, 75-63
