De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde snapped their two-game losing skid in NCAA Season 99 as they prevailed over San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 87-72, Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in the city of San Juan.
The Blazers improved to 2-3 in the standings, while the Golden Stags plunged into a 1-3 win-loss record.
Sharpshooter Migs Oczon exploded for a career-high 29 points to steer the Taft-based squad back to its winning ways, while backcourt-mate Robi Nayve followed suit with 16 points, three assists, and three rebounds.
Reigning NCAA Most Valuable Player Will Gozum also contributed with 13 markers while also grabbing 10 boards and dishing out five assists.
Nursing only a five-point cushion heading into the final quarter, Benilde bursted into a 15-4 run to pull away from the Golden Stags, 79-63. Notably, Nayve racked up seven straight points in the said barrage.
From there, Benilde were able to close out the game with their steady play on both ends to finally break their losing streak, 87-72.
Blazers Head Coach Charles Tiu was relieved to get the pressure of notching a win off their shoulders and is looking forward to building off this victory.
“It’s nice to finally get a win. We’re trying to pick things up and remind the guys that they’re probably pressuring themselves to try and win a championship. I said just try to forget about the championship right now and focus on one game at a time and just enjoy,” said Tiu.
For the Golden Stags, guard Rafael Are and Raymart Escobido both chipped in 15 and 13 points respectively in their losing effort.
Benilde look to mount consecutive victories when they face the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas on Tuesday, October 10, while San Sebastian will be hoping to finally break their bad run of form as they play the red-hot Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers on the same date.
Scores:
Benilde 87 - Oczon 29, Nayve 16, Gozum 13, Arciaga 9, Marasigan 6, Turco 5, Corteza 4, Jarque 3, Sangco 2, Cajucom 0, Carlos 0, Morales 0, Marcos 0.
San Sebastian 72 - Are 15, Escobido 13, Calahat 12, Una 8, Sumoda 7, Gabat 5, Shanoda 5, Felebrico 3, Desoyo 3, R. Gabat 1, Bacani 0, De Leon 0.
Quarterscores: 17-20, 43-39, 64-59, 87-72.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
