De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde continued its relentless winning ways, nipping Jose Rizal University, 80-65, in the NCAA Season 100 on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Blazers have now cruised to their fourth straight victory and improved to 10-2 while sending the Heavy Bombers to their fourth successive loss at 3-9.
Ian Torres remained at the center of Benilde's offense, sparking off the bench with 16 points on efficient 50 percent shooting from the field together with two assists, two steals, and one rebound while big man Allen Liwag poured in a double-double outing of 12 markers and 11 boards alongside three dimes and one swat.
"Kami naman we play every team the same way, that's how we treat the NCAA, we respect every team. JRU is a good team, they're always tough," Benilde head coach Charles Tiu said.
"They always play every team close, they've had a few games na natalo lang sa dulo. So we wanted to make sure we have breathing room and just play our game."
Benilde was hot right from the get-go, enjoying a 42-33 halftime lead over the gritty Heavy Bombers, who were welcoming head coach Louie Gonzalez back from his one-game absence in their previous match against San Sebastian College-Recoletos.
The Blazers stepped on the gas pedal in the third, thanks to the blazing offense from Liwag and Jhomel Ancheta, who both dropped nine of their overall outputs in the frame that saw them surging to a 68-40 lead before the fourth.
They even soared to a 73-40 cushion following a Torres three-pointer to open the payoff period.
JRU, however, staged a fight back behind big man Joshua Guiab, who would then fuel a 16-2 rampage to trim their deficit to 19 with stil 3:23 to go. Torres and Matthew Oli, though, manufactured the finishing blow with the latter burying a corner triple off a Liwag dish.
Justine Sanchez added 10 points in the win while Ancheta and Anton Eusebio chipped in nine markers apiece.
Guiab paced JRU with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals while Shawn Argente and MJ Raymundo chimed in with 14 and 13 markers each in the losing effort.
Scores:
Benilde 80 – Torres 16, Liwag 12, Sanchez 10, Ancheta 9, Eusebio 9, Oli 6, Cajucom 5, Cometa 4, Ondoa 4, Serrano 2, Turco 2, Morales 1, Sangco 0, Jarque 0, Galas 0.
JRU 65 – Guiab 17, Argente 14, Raymundo 13, Pangilinan 8, De Leon 4, Bernardo 4, Mosqueda 3, Lozano 2, Samontanes 0, Panapanaan 0, Sarmiento 0, Ferrer 0.
Quarters: 21-16, 42-33, 68-40, 80-65.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
