College of Saint Benilde failed on its bid to upset defending champion San Sebastian after bowing 75-74 in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan on August 2.
After a solid start, the Blazers found themselves trailing by 17 points in the second half and failed to capitalize on a sluggish performance by the Stags down the stretch to suffer their third consecutive setback.
The Taft-based cagers are now holding a record of 1-3 for sixth spot in the standings.
Carlo Lastimosa topscored for CSB with 20 points but only had nine points in the first three quarters after committing four fouls early in the third period.
Former RP U-18 team standout Mark de Guzman tried to put the Blazers back from a 68-51 deficit with 5:42 remaining by uncorking two triples late. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to propel the Blazers to the win.
His first three trimmed the lead to three (74-71), 13 seconds to go, after draining one from the left corner after his initial attempt hit the back side of the board.
The Stags’ Anthony del Rio was fouled with 12 seconds left and muffed both foul shots giving St Benilde a chance to tie the game. But during the battle for the rebound, del Rio was able to grab the ball and was fouled anew, splitting his charities with 9.9 seconds for a 75-71 advantage.
Coach Richard del Rosario’s wards tried to gain closer with de Guzman draining a triple at the buzzer, ending a contest that saw San Sebastian playing paltry following a win over Jose Rizal University on Friday.
Pamboy Raymundo led the Stags with 12 points while Calvin Abueva likewise had the same number of points along with eight rebounds in just 19 minutes.
The back-to-back title seeking Stags improved to a perfect 6-0 slate.
The scores:
SAN SEBASTIAN 75 – Raymundo 12, Abueva 12, Pascual 10, del Rio 8, Bulawan 7, Semira 6, Gatchalian 6, Sangalang 4, Maconocido 4, Gorospe 2, dela Cruz 2, Maiquez 2, Gatchalian D. 0, Najorda 0.
ST BENILDE 74 – Lastimosa 20, de Guzman 13, Abolucion 10, dela Paz 7, McCoy 7, Wong 6, Nayve 5, Manalac 4, Argamino 1, Sinco 1, Tan 0.
Quarters: 22-21; 45-39; 62-53; 75-74.
Juniors
CSB-La Salle Greenhills ended years of frustration against San Sebastian after pulling off a stunning 71-65 victory in the 86th NCAA juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
The Greenies were led by Roel Marcial and RP U-18 team standout Michael Pate but it was the likes of Rene Sta Maria, Mario Bonleon and Thomas Torres who came through down the stretch to beat the Staglets for the first time in years.
Marcial and Pate led LSGH with 13 points each with the latter adding seven rebounds despite being in foul trouble during the contest.
The squad of coach Hubert delos Santos improved to three wins and one loss to gain solo second spot behind the unbeaten defending champion San Beda Red Cubs.
Leading by seven points in the third period, San Sebastian, behind top scorer Gino Jumao-as and Mark Magno, pulled within three points on numerous occasions in the fourth quarter.
But the Greenies were simply stubborn with Torres scoring a layup to extend the lead to six 2:32 left then Sta Maria scored inside for a 69-61 lead with about 90 seconds remaining.
Sta Maria had 10 points and four rebounds while Bonleon provided quality minutes with nine points and seven boards. Torres, the team’s starting point guard, chipped in seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Staglets, who got 25 points from Jumao-as, fell to 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting while adding 13 rebounds in 38 minutes, fell to an even 3-3 slate.
The scores:
CSB-LSGH 71 – Marcial 13, Pate 13, Sta Maria 10, Bonleon 9, Torres 7, Villaruz 5, Vergara 4, Trajano 4, Diaz 4, Sy 2, Carlos 0, Pumaren 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 65 – Jumao-as 25, Magno 14, Vitug 9, Vergara 8, Pante 4, Escalambre 3, Pascual 2, Macasaet 0, Sapalo 0, Gianan 0, Soriano 0, Leyva 0, Velasco 0, Santos 0.
Quarters: 15-12; 35-30; 51-49; 71-65.
