De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde demolished Lyceum of the Philippines University, 103-78, on Friday in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Blazers improved to 5-1 as they bounced back after losing to Colegio de San Juan de Letran last Sunday, and snapped the Pirates' three-game winning streak as the latter slipped to 3-3.
Benilde started strong with 32 points in the first quarter alone against LPU's 22 before the lead ballooned to 59-40 at the end of the first half.
The Pirates cut their deficit to within 13 past the halfway mark of the third quarter but the Blazers quickly regained control and even led by as much as 29, 96-67, at the 2:25 mark of the final frame.
Irele Galas' dunk put Benilde at the century mark before the his freebies sealed the deal for the Taft-based squad.
"We felt we were good enough to win that Letran game. We just really let that game slip away, so we made sure that it won't happen again. We had to come out with more energy," Benilde head coach Charles Tiu said.
"Lyceum was also on a winning streak. They've been playing very well. They're also a Final Four contender like us, so we wanted to make sure we got them from the start. We were able to get enough stops, and finally we had a good offensive game."
Allen Liwag posted 22 points, 12 rebounds, and one block, while Justine Sanchez and John Morales had 18 and 10 points apiece. Benilde's explosion was anchored on eight three pointers made and 77.5% of 2-pt field goals.
Mclaude Guadaña had 25 points, while Gyle Montaño had 14 points. John Barba was limited to 12 points after four games of scoring 25 points.
Benilde will go against San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Tuesday, while LPU will be back on Sunday against Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Scores:
Benilde 103 - Liwag 22, Sanchez 18, Morales 10, Torres 9, Cometa 9, Sangco 8, Eusebio 7, Galas 7, Ondoa 4, Ynot 3, Cajucom 3, Serrano 3, Carillo 0, Turco 0, Oli 0.
LPU 78 - Guadaña 26, Montaño 14, Barba 12, Villegas 6, Peñafiel 4, Culanay 4, Paulo 4, Aviles 3, Cunanan 2, Gordon 2, Pallingayan 1, Moralejo 0, Daileg 0, Caduyac 0, Panelo 0.
Quarters: 32-22, 59-40, 80-59, 103-78.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
