NCAA Season 99 has been a tough one for De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
After falling just short of the title last season against Colegio de San Juan de Letran, the Blazers this season made it to the semifinals, thanks in part to Mapua University's win against Jose Rizal University in their final elimination round game.
But as they met that same Mapua team in the Final Four on Tuesday, the Blazers, too, fell short to the top-seeded Cardinals.
This is something that head coach Charles Tiu took responsibility for.
"It's so competitive here but obviously to me, I consider the failure on my part. My goal straight up was to win the championship, I felt that we had a great chance," Tiu said after their loss to Mapua in the semifinals.
"I still feel we have a really good team, the best pieces. It falls on me. I don't think I did a great job this year to get them to play to their potential. I told them that I'm the one to blame for this but that's basketball for you."
"Frustrating for sure, hopefully we can find a way to bounce back from this next year and try to achieve our goal one day of bringing a championship to Benilde," he added.
Tiu also admitted that turnovers affected their game against the Intramuros-based squad.
"It's tough. I really felt we played well enough to win this game. In the first half, we were really controlling the game but we kept throwing the ball away. Just too many turnovers. That was actually my main concern entering the game. I told them we can't turn the ball over against Mapua," said the Benilde coach.
He also praised some players on the opposite side, particularly Clint Escamis and Paolo Hernandez.
"I thought we did okay but give them credit, si Escamis, there's a reason why he's the MVP. [He] Made some really big shots also Hernandez got going again and I think those two were the difference makers for Mapua. Give them a lot of credit. They've been playing well all season. They just had our number."
But despite Benilde's disappointing season, Tiu still sees a glimmer of hope for the men from Taft Avenue.
"The good thing is I still have a few vets I'd like to think of coming in and I still have a few young players here so we just have to find a way to get them to play together."
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
