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| Jacob Cortez fired 20 points to lead San Beda past CSB. NCAA |
SAN JUAN, MM--A first-quarter domination turned out to be barely enough for San Beda to escape College of St. Benilde through an 83-77 win in their NCAA showdown on Sunday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
The Red Lions stormed to a 29-9 lead against the Blazers at the end of the first quarter, but the latter slowly chipped away the huge deficit as the game continued to progress.
CSB eventually came to within five, 82-77, with exactly a minute left, but Jacob Cortez picked Robi Nayve's pass intended for Will Gozum, and Nygel Gonzales completed the ball recovery.
Gonzales would convert a split from the free-throw line to up San Beda's lead to six with 28.1 seconds left even as Prince Carlos missed a triple that could have kept CSB in it.
Cortez led the Red Lions, who moved up to 2-1, with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Yukien Andrada added 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Migs Oczon put up 15 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals, while Gozum and Nayve each added 14 markers with Gozum also tallying 11 boards for the Blazers, who fell to 1-2.
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