Despite De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde's 73-64 triumph of Mapua University, Blazers head coach Charles Tiu aired his disappointment as they nearly lost the game against the Cardinals.
Benilde led by 11 points at the end of the third frame before Mapua closed the gap and made it a single possession game early in the payoff period. The Taft crew, however, unleashed a 9-0 run to again erect a 62-51 cushion.
Benilde then held on to that lead until the final buzzer as the Blazers clinched their sixth win in seven games.
But even with the late effort by his team, Tiu was far from satisfied.
"Very disappointing. You wanna give some guys the chance to play, chance to bounce back and they didn't respect the way we should be playing, they don't play the right play and there we almost lost this game," Tiu said in the post-game interview.
"I thought we were in control pretty much the whole game pero 'di kami naka-pull away but obviously a lot of credit to Mapua. I respect their team a lot."
Tiu also gave credits and respect to Mapua for giving Benilde a tough test, saying their 0-8 win-loss card doesn't reflect their team's capacity.
"They struggle sa start but they're a good team. I respect coach Randy (Alcantara) and their staff. They played tough and I'm very happy to beat them because this is a Final Four team no matter what their record says."
—JMB, GMA News
