San Beda University dominated De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 80-76, to snap a two-game losing skid in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
With the win, San Beda improved to 7-3 and seized the solo lead in Group B to start the third phase of the elimination round, while Benilde slipped to 6-4.
The Red Lions were leading 74-69 with less than two minutes left in the game before a split from Justine Sanchez and a triple by Jake Gaspay trimmed the deficit to two with 1:01 remaining.
Bryan Sajonia then drilled a triple, but Tony Ynot answered with one of his own to bring Benilde within one, 77-76.
A foul by Josh Cajucom sent Sajonia to the line, where he made one of two free throws. He missed his next attempt, and Raffy Celis fouled Janti Miller on the ensuing play. Miller calmly sank two pressure-packed free throws to seal the victory for the Red Lions.
"Yeah, coming off two losses, make or break 'yung game na 'to eh," assistant coach Andre Santos said.
"Imagine if we lost three straight, how demoralizing that would have been? But to end that losing streak, to beat a tough Benilde team, to solidify ourselves in number one, [it's a] super big win."
Yukien Andrada led San Beda with 23 points, as the Blazers played without big man and reigning Most Valuable Player Allen Liwag, who sustained an injury during their game against Lyceum of the Philippines University.
Sajonia finished with 22 points, including four triples, while Miller added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Ynot paced the Blazers with 21 points on four triples, while Shawn Umali contributed 16. Despite being limited to six points, Justine Sanchez grabbed 10 rebounds.
Scores:
San Beda 80 - Andrada 23, Sajonia 22, Miller 11, Estacio 7, Etulle 5, Gonzales 4, Reyes 4, Lina 4, Celzo 0, Calimag 0, Bonzalida 0, Culdora 0, Puno 0.
Benilde 76 - Ynot 21, Umali 16, Cajucom 9, Celis 8, Sanchez 6, Torres 5, Ancheta 4, Gaspay 3, Cometa 2, Morales 2, Moore 0, Eusebio 0, Oli 0, Galas 0.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
