De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde needed to fend off a last-ditch University of Perpetual Help System DALTA surge, 61-56, to remain unbeaten in the second round of NCAA Season 100 on Wednesday.
The Blazers, who have already sealed their Final Four spot by virtue of Mapua University’s victory over LPU yesterday, improved to 12-2 while the luckless ALTAs slipped to 6-9 despite a massive fourth quarter rampage.
"We expected them naman to come out much better than the last time we played them, I give them a lot of credit as they defended us well. Any team with coach Olsen is very systematic," Benilde coach Charles Tiu said.
"We struggled to score. [It was] not your best offensive game. I'm just not happy with the way we ended."
Benilde ran like a well-oiled machine early on, even leading by as much as 20 after a Mark Sangco layup sent the Blazers to a 44-24 cushion early in the third period.
However, the ALTAs, knowing how important their last games are, went on a storm in the fourth, outscoring the league-leading Blazers, 22 to 10, to put up a scare behind Christian Pagaran.
The veteran shooting guard fueled a 19-6 run capped by an alley oop layup off an Emman Pizzaro pass to cut their deficit to a single digit with 1:48 to go in the game, 53-57.
But Justine Sanchez, who atoned for a dismal outing last game against EAC where he was fouled out, came up with clutch baskets after hitting back-to-back shots that widened the gap to eight, 61-53, in the final 43 seconds.
Rookie Mark Gojo Cruz would still knock down a quick three-pointer and force a turnover from Gab Cometa, but the ALTAs ran out of time as Benilde still emerged victorious.
Sanchez ended up with a team-high 16 points laced with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal as he returned to the Final Four with a different team now while Liwag, who was scoreless at the half, finished with 10 markers and six boards.
Pagaran paced Perpetual with 18 points while Gojo Cruz had an all-around outing of 15 markers, eight boards, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Scores:
Benilde 61 – Sanchez 16, Liwag 10, Torres 6, Sangco 5, Oli 5, Cometa 5, Turco 5, Ynot 4, Eusebio 2, Jarque 2, Ondoa 1, Ancheta 0, Morales 0, Cajucom 0.
Perpetual 56 – Pagaran 18, Gojo Cruz 15, Boral 5, Manuel 5, Abis 4, Pizarro 3, Movida 2, Nuñez 2, Gelsao 2, Thompson 0, Montemayor 0.
Quarters: 20-12, 38-22, 51-34, 61-56.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
