College of St. Benilde vented its ire on Jose Rizal University, 84-69, to return to the winning column and secure its hold of first place to close the first round of the NCAA Season 100 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Coming from a shocking loss to the Arellano University Chiefs last Saturday, the Blazers returned to the winning column in commanding fashion to end the first round of play with a 7-2 record.
Regardless of the results of the finals rematch between San Beda University (5-3) and Mapua (6-2) University later at 2:00 PM, CSB will remain on top of the standings.
“We’re happy that we’re number one, but obviously we would have wanted to have a little bit more breathing room kasi dikit-dikit lahat ng teams… Still, a lot to clean up. The turnovers are the number one concern, and hopefully, we can get healthy a bit,” said CSB head coach Charles Tiu.
What dimmed the Blazers’ seventh win in nine outings was the injury of lead guard Tony Ynot, who went down with a left ankle injury 22 seconds into his appearance in the first quarter.
JRU actually struck first in the scoring department with a triple, but it became the CSB show from there on out.
The Blazers expanded a 12-point cushion after the opening period to a comfortable 26-point advantage at the half, 55-29, after a 28-12 demolition of the Heavy Bombers in the second quarter.
Trailing by 25 points entering the payoff period, 72-47, a late scoring surge by Joshua Guiab trimmed JRU’s deficit to 13 points, 82-69.
However, CSB’s dominant first-half start was too insurmountable for JRU after establishing a game-high 26-point lead, 53-27, late in the second period.
“The guys are still gaining more experience pag mga end game na crucial. That’s why these games are good for us pa rin, and hopefully sila [Ian] Torres, [Jhomel] Ancheta, and [Gab] Cometa will have more endgame composure,” Tiu added.
Jhomel Ancheta led CSB’s scoring punch with 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Gab Cometa contributed 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.
Allen Liwag chipped in 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one block, while Mark Sangco tallied a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Justine Sanchez, on the other hand, was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds to go along with three steals.
Joshua Guiab’s near-perfect shooting night of 24 points on 11-of-13 from the field to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal went for naught as JRU dropped to a 4-5 card.
Marvin Raymundo and Joshua Pangilinan chipped in 12 points apiece as the Heavy Bombers have now figured in a three-way tie for fifth place alongside LPU Pirates and UPSHD Altas.
The second round of play has yet to be released by the collegiate league.
The Scores:
St. Benilde 84 – Ancheta 17, Cometa 15, Liwag 12, Sangco 12, Sanchez 12, Ondoa 9, Torres 5, Jarque 2, Eusebio 0, Cajucom 0, Ynot 0, Serrano 0
Jose Rizal 69 – Guiab 24, Raymundo 12, Pangilinan 12, Argente 5, Mosqueda 5, Bernardo 3, De Jesus 2, Panapanaan 2, Garcia 2, Ferrer 2, Ramos 0, Benitez 0, De Leon 0, Sarmiento 0, Barrera 0
Quarterscores: 27-17, 55-29, 70-47, 84-69
