The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers may be coming away with a fourth consecutive win, but they’re not coming away too happy from their 83-73 win over the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas.
In NCAA Season 97 action on Saturday, the Blazers built a massive 46-24 lead by halftime, but they allowed the Altas to come back to within six points in the fourth quarter before putting the game away.
“I think we were really good in the first half on defense. That’s the kind of team we want to be, that holds the other team to 24 points,” said CSB guard JC Cullar, who posted two points, six rebounds, and six assists in the win.
“I think in the third and fourth, we lost focus a bit. Especially on defense, we couldn’t maintain the energy.”
After a stingy first half defensive performance, CSB allowed 49 points over the last two periods, including 28 points in the third quarter alone, where they were outscored by Perpetual by nine points.
Perpetual's Jielo Razon scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter and 18 total in the second half.
Blazers forward AJ Benson, who scored all of his 16 points in the second half, also believes his team fell short of expectations late in the game.
“I think the biggest thing is effort, playing defense. And everything else will come along,” he said.
“We didn’t do a good job in the second half, but at least we got that ‘W’. We’ll do better next time, I’ll do better next time.”
Luckily for the Blazers, big shots from Benson, Miggy Corteza, and Robi Nayve preserved the win for Saint Benilde, which moved up to solo third in the standings at 4-1.
—JMB, GMA News
