De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde kept some measure of pride after nipping Lyceum of the Philippines University, 93-83, in their battle for third place in the NCAA Season 99 on Sunday at the MOA Arena.
Benilde created a huge separation early in the second half where the Blazers pulled away from a 43-41 halftime cushion by establishing a 15-point advantage, 81-66.
Neil Moralejo then sank a triple to cut Lyceum’s deficit to a single digit, 92-83, with 56 seconds left in the game before Miggy Corteza solit his charities to make it a 93-83 affair.
Benilde, which finished the elimination round with an 11-7 card, will take the bronze medal on the heels of a Final Four exit after a loss to to top seed Mapua University.
The Pirates, on the other hand, will wrap up their campaign at the fourth slot.
Benilde was playing without main gunner Migs Oczon who recently signed a deal to join Ulsan in the Korean Basketball League while Lyceum was without team captain Enoch Valdez, who already made a leap to the pro ranks with NLEX.
Graduating guard Robi Nayve paced Benilde with 18 points to bounce back from a scoreless outing against the Cardinals while also collecting five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Joshua Cajucom and Corteza tallied 15 and 14 markers apiece.
Mclaude Guadaña led Lyceum with 16 points while Alvin Penafiel chimed in with 15 markers.
Scores:
Benilde 93- Nayve 18, Cajucom 15, Corteza 14, Marasigan 8, Carlos 7, Gozum 7, Sangco 6, Marcos 5, Morales 4, Lepalam 4, Arciaga 2, Jarque 2, Turco 1, Mara 0, Jalalon 0.
LPU 83- Guadana 16, Penafiel 15, Montano 9, Umali 8, Barba 8, Cunanan 7, Culanay 6, Versoza 5, Aviles 4, Moralejo 3, Saure 2, Villegas 0.
Quarterscores: 24-22; 43-41; 71-56; 93-83.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
