After a near win over the reigning champions, College of Saint Benilde was brought back to reality after a 112-91 loss to upstart Letran in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Blazers battled the Knights in a rare high-scoring game and even took a slim lead moments before the half.
But the squad of coach Richard del Rosario lost steam in the second half as Letran ripped them apart to suffer their second consecutive setback.
With the loss, St Benilde has dropped into a tie with Perpetual Help and Mapua for eighth to 10th places.
Rookie Jonathan Grey had his best game of the season, producing 23 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 21 minutes off the bench. Carlo Lastimosa had 17 points and Juan Paolo Taha scored 16 points in 19 minutes.
CSB’s performance regressed after pushing San Beda to the limit before dropping a heartbreaking 79-78 setback on Friday.
Letran surged into a 9-0 lead and 14-5 late in the first period but the Blazers forced them to make miscues and frustrated their defense to even take a slim 47-46 lead on a breakaway layup by Grey with under a minute left.
But the Knights answered with a 9-2 run with guard Kevin Alas uncorking a triple before the buzzer as the Blazers trailed 55-49 at halftime.
From there, CSB never recovered.
Meanwhile, La Salle Greenhills defeated Letran, 80-77, to forge a tie for third in the juniors division.
Mario Bonleon had 27 points and seven boards while Thomas Torres added 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Greenies tied the Squires at 4-1.
Starting forward Charles Yap added 15 points and seven rebounds for LSGH, which hasn’t made the Final Four since 2008.
CSB returns to action on Friday against Perpetual Help at 4 p.m. LSGH and Perpetual square off in the juniors division at 11:45 a.m.
The Altas are coming off a stunning 79-77 triple overtime win over fancied Jose Rizal University on Monday to barge into the win column.
Perpetual is coached by current La Salle Zobel assistant Jimwel Gican.
The scores:
Juniors
LSGH 80 – Bonleon 27, Torres 23, Yap 15, Vito 5, Laigo 3, Sta Clara 2, Tesorero 2, Paras 2, Mercado 1, Ramilo 0, Sy 0.
LETRAN 77 – Serafica 27, Villanueva 18, Nambatac 13, Galleon 10, Luib 7, Catipay 2, Licyayo 0.
Quarters: 20-18; 32-33; 51-50; 80-77.
Seniors
LETRAN 112 – Alas K. 19, Cortes 19, Belorio 18, Cruz 10, Espiritu 9, Mendoza 8, Gabawan 7, Almazan 6, Dysam 6, Racal 3, Alas J. 3, Pantin 2, Lituania 2, Gabriel 0, Cudal 0.
ST BENILDE 91 – Grey 23, Lastimosa 17, Taha 16, Romero 14, Tan 7, Sinco 5, McCoy 3, Deles 3, de la Paz 2, Musngi 1, Altamirano 0, Pate 0, Nayve 0, de Guzman 0, Carlos 0.
Quarters: 31-23; 55-49; 80-70; 112-91.
