De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde remained on track to a Final Four bonus as it defeated Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 83-78, on Friday in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Blazers remained on top of the league standings as they improved to 13-2, while Letran slipped to 7-9.
The Knights led by 14, 27-13, just before the first quarter ended but the Blazers went on a 32-point explosion and limited Letran to 10 points to end the first half with a 47-37 lead.
After ending the third period trailing, 62-54, the Knights went as close as within seven, 79-72, with 68 seconds remaining in the fourth period after back-to-back baskets from Jimboy Estrada and Joseph Nunag. However, Allen Liwag's baskets late sealed the deal for Benilde despite triples from Pao Javillonar and Deo Cuajao.
"Give credit to Letran. We talked about it all week, kept saying that we expected them to show some desperation, they need this game very badly," Benilde head coach Charles Tiu said. "Thankfully we made the adjustments, we were able to capitalize and do what we wanted and execute our game plan."
Most Valuable Player frontrunner Liwag stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal as the Blazers extended their streak to seven. Justine Sanchez and Mark Sangco, meanwhile, chipped in 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Benilde spoiled Pao Javillonar’s hot shooting afternoon with the senior firing eight from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 31 points. Jimboy Estrada registered a double-double of 13 points and 11 assists, alongside eight rebounds, and a block.
Scores:
Benilde 83 – Liwag 20, Sanchez 16, Sangco 11, Ynot 7, Torres 7, Ancheta 7, Eusebio 7, Ondoa 6, Morales 2, Cometa 0, Oli 0, Cajucom 0.
Letran 78 – Javillonar 31, Estrada 13, Cuajao 10, Montecillo 9, Miller 6, Nunag 5, Monje 4, Delfino 0, Pradella 0, Jumao-As 0, Dimaano 0.
Quarters: 15-27, 47-37, 62-54, 83-78.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
