Two decades worth of waiting has come to an end.
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde clinched its first Final Four appearance since 2002 after beating San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 83-78, in NCAA Season 98 action on Tuesday.
Will Gozum led the way with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals while Miggy Corteza chipped in with 18 points for the Blazers, who improved to 11-4 in the standings.
With the Benilde win and San Sebastian loss, the Blazers completed the semifinals cast, which includes Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Lyceum of the Philippines University, and San Beda University.
The Blazers took control of the game in the third where they built a 55-46 lead after trailing by as much as 13 in a first half marred by physicality.
The third quarter ended with Benilde enjoying a slim 63-57 cushion as the Stags continued to play without head coach Egay Macaraya, who was ejected late in the second quarter.
A shooting spree saw the Blazers pull away with Will Gozum steadying the ship for the Taft crew, unleashing five straight points for a 70-63 spread.
The loss formally eliminated San Sebastian after falling to 6-9.
Gozum was dominant all game long, but especially in the third quarter, where he scored nine of his points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field.
Behind Gozum and Corteza, the Blazers also got contributions from Prince Carlos and Migs Oczon, who scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.
On the other end, the Stags were led by Ichie Altamirano abd Romel Calahat, who scored 11 apiece.
It was an intense first half for both teams as Macaraya was slapped with a disqualifying foul with 4.1 seconds to go in the second period after arguing with officials as he asked for a play to be reviewed.
Prior to that, two players went down hurting with Rhinwill Yambing sustaining a cut above his right eye while Corteza also hurt his right arm with 26.4 seconds left to go.
Yambing was limited to just four minutes and 30 seconds of play.
The scores:
Benilde 83 - Gozum 25, Corteza 18, Carlos 14, Oczon 10, Pasturan 8, Cullar 4, Lepalam 4, Sumabat 0, Marcos 0, Nayve 0, Lim 0, Davis 0.
San Sebastian 78 - Altamirano 11, Calahat 11, Villapando 10, Desoyo 10, Sumoda 7, Escobido 7, Are 5, Cosari 5, Suico 5, Una 5, Aguilar 2, Shanoda 0, Yambing 0, Concha 0.
Quarters: 20-21, 44-40, 63-57, 83-78.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
