College of St Benilde’s hopes for a decent finish and a possible berth in the PCCL got derailed yesterday as they lost to the Lyceum Pirates 94-89 in overtime. The Blazers end their season at 7th place with a 6-12 record.

The loss ends another frustrating year for CSB, who has not had a winning season in men’s basketball since 2002. The Blazers were actually in the thick of the fight early in the tournament and had a legitimate chance to make it to the Final 4. But a string of tough-luck losses to lower ranked teams, the migration of mainstay Mark Romero to the US and the brief absence of leading-scorer Carlo Lastimosa affected the team’s campaign towards the homestretch.

The future looks bright though for CSB next year as the team will remain intact. With the addition of several key players from team b, the Blazers will definitely contend in 2012.

Meanwhile in the juniors division, La Salle Greenhills crushed Lyceum 118-45 as they solidify their hold on the number 3 seed in the semis. This will be only the third time that the Greenies will advance past the eliminations since returning to the NCAA in 1998. They will be having the twice-to-beat disadvantage when they face the Letran Squires.

Overall, it was the good showing for CSB/LSGH in the first semester events of the NCAA.

Swimming: Mens – 2nd, Womens – 2nd, Juniors -10-time Champion
Chess: Seniors – Champion, Juniors – 4th
Table Tennis: Womens – Champion, Mens – 2nd, Juniors – 7th
Beach Volleyball – Womens – 3rd, Mens – 4th, Juniors – 7th

Boxscores

Jrs
LSGH 118 -Bonleon 21, Torres 17, Manzano 15, Paras 12, Mercado 10, Sy 9, Marcial 9, Tesorero 8, vito 7, Villaruz 4, Ramilo 2, Laigo 2, Barrera 2, Sta Clara 0

Lyceum 45 – Menil 8, Pare 10, Lagman 9, Cecilio 4, Romanes 2, DeLeon 2, Verdad 0, Tropicales 0, Ligot 0, Licerio 0, Cruzada 0, Agdon 0, Agdon 0

Quarterscores: 28-12;60-18;94-29;118-45

Srs
Lyceum 94 – Guevara 27, Napiza 14, Cayabyab 11, Lacap 11, Francisco 10, Laude 8, Ko 4, Mallari 4, Anacta 3, Azores 2, Lesmoras 0

CSB 89 – Lastimosa 24, Tan 12, Pate 11, Sinco 10, Nayve 9, Taha 8, Deles 6, McCoy 3, de la Paz 2, Altamirano 2, de Guzman 2, Carlos 0

Quarterscores: 18-16;36-37;59-57;79-79;94-89

As posted in the Manila Bulletin by Jonas Terrado

College of Saint Benilde won its first game in over a month with an 82-73 win over cellar-dweller Emilio Aguinaldo College in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament Friday at The Arena in San Juan.

The Blazers drew strong games from rookie Michael Pate, Paolo Taha and Carlo Lastimosa to snap a four-game losing run and tie idle Lyceum for sixth place with similar 6-11 records.

Pate, a former National Youth mainstay, came off the bench to register 18 points, three rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes of action.

Taha had 14 points and three boards and Lastimosa, in his third game back after a brief absence, registered 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Center Jan Tan added 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

It was St. Benilde’s first win since a narrow 66-64 victory over Arellano on Sept. 5. Since then, the Blazers lost their next four games that eliminated them from Final Four contention.

The loss of Mark Romero, who migrated along with his parents to the United States, a brief misunderstanding that led to a temporary departure of Lastimosa from the team likewise affected their semis bid.

“We could have done better,” said coach Richard del Rosario. “I think the lost of our players during the midseason and failing to win games that we could have won affected us but could build something from this.”

Boxscores

Jrs
LSGH 84 – Bonleon 19, Torres 15, Villaruz 13, Vito 10, Yap 9, Ramilo 7, Sta Clara 6, Barrera 4, Laigo 1, Mercado 0

EAC 67 – Mendoza 21, Superable 17, Onwubere 15, Cuyos 8, Padrones 2, Manreza 2, Cabral 2, Rait 0, Meana 0, Magtaas 0

Quarterscores: 22-10;35-32;53-46;84-67

Srs
CSB 82 – Pate 18, Taha 14, Lastimosa 13, Tan 10, Altamirano 8, Deles 8, De la Paz 5, Sinco 4, Carlos 2, McCoy 0.

EAC 73 – Jamon 20, Yaya 17, Vargas 11, Cubo 10, Torralba 6, Chiong 5, Paguia 2, Sanchez 2, Morada 0, King 0, Diolanto 0.

Quarterscores: 22-19;43-30;61-47;82-73.

College of Saint Benilde’s Final Four bid came to an end on Monday after bowing to fancied Letran, 72-60, in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

The trio of Paolo Taha, Carlo Lastimosa and Jonathan Grey led a spirited third quarter comeback by the Blazers but failed to sustain their momentum in the payoff period that helped the Knights pull away.

With their fourth consecutive defeat, CSB fell to 5-11 and is assured of missing the Final Four for the ninth straight season.

The Blazers’ elimination was completed in the second game when Jose Rizal University won its eighth game by likewise ending Mapua’s disappointing 2011 campaign with a 78-64 win in the second game.

The last time St Benilde made the postseason was in 2002 when Sunday Salvacion led the team to its second finals appearance in three seasons. The Blazers, however, were swept by back-to-back champion San Sebastian.

Taha led the “Green and Black” with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Lastimosa made 11 points although he shot 4-of-14 from the field. Grey added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

CSB fell behind early as Kevin Alas powered Letran to a 15-3 lead in the first then teammate VJ Espiritu fired all 10 points in the first two periods to take a 28-19 halftime lead.

But St Benilde awoke from slumber as it capitalized on a sluggish third by the Knights to even take a 45-43 lead with barely two minutes remaining in the said period.

However, the Blazers fell into numerous fouls and Letran capitalized to regain full control of the contest.

Alas had 16 points to lead Letran while Jam Cortes tallied 12 points and 12 boards. Backup guard Mark Cruz gave the Blazers trouble as well for 11 markers.

Luis Sinco added nine points for the Blazers.

In juniors action, La Salle Greenhills lost to Letran 74-60. The Greenies drop to 11-5, tied for the 3rd and 4th spot with EAC.

Box scores

Jrs
Letran 74 – Villanueva 25, Nambatac 10, Luib 10, Catipay 10, Serafica 9, Galleon 6, Licyayo 4

LSGH 60 – Torres 16, Villaruz 15, Yap 9, Laigo 6, Vito 4, Bonleon 4, Barrera 3, Ramilo 2, Sta Clara 1, Tesorero 0, Paras 0, Mercado 0, Marcial 0

Quarterscores: 19-14;39-23;61-37;74-60

Srs
Letran 72 — Alas K. 16, Cortes 12, Cruz 11, Espiritu 10, Belorio 7, Dysam 6, Racal 4, Alas J, 4, Almazan 2, Lituania 0, Mendoza 0, Gabriel 0

St. Benilde 60 — Taha 18, Lastimosa 11, Grey 10, Sinco 9, Tan 4, Carlos 4, Altamirano 2, McCoy 1, Deles 1, de la Paz 0, Pate 0.
Quarterscores: 16-5; 28-19; 47-45; 72-60