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| Allen Liwag appears ready to give Ian Torres a high-five after the latter hit a shot. NCAA |
SAN JUAN, MM––College of St. Benilde kept a tight grip on Group B’s second seed in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament once more after trouncing Letran, 80-74, at Playtime FilOil Centre on Friday.
Before Friday, the Blazers and the Knights were caught in a two-way tie as Group B’s second-best team with identical 6-4 records.
That would all change after Benilde gutted out a victory over the Intramuros-based squad to improve to a 7-4 card, moving just a game behind pool leader San Beda (7-3).
“I give them credit because they didn’t back down. Letran is such a tough and physical team,” coach Charles Tiu said.
“Kahit undermanned kami without Allen (Liwag), lumaban sila, pumalag sila, at they defended well when it mattered the most,” he added, lauding Benilde’s reserves for stepping up in the absence of the reigning league MVP due to a shoulder injury.
Ian Torres paced Benilde with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists, helping the Blazers bounce back from their 80-76 loss to the Red Lions a few days back. Justine Sanchez also finished just two rebounds shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight boards.
The troika of John Mowell Morales, Tony Ynot, and Jhomel Ancheta helped the Blazers’ cause with 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively.
The Knights slid to a 6-5 record as the third-best team of Group B, but not without the efforts of Titing Manalili, who top-scored for Letran with 16 points alongside five assists, five steals, and two rebounds.
The scores:
ST. BENILDE 80 – Torres 15, Sanchez 14, Morales 13, Ynot 12, Ancheta 10, Umali 5, Celis 3, Gaspay 3, Eusebio 3, Cometa 2, Cajucom 0, Oli 0
LETRAN 74 – Manalili 16, Estrada 14, Buensalida 10, Roque 9, Omega 9, Santos 8, Gammad 7, Rosilio 1, Cuajao 0, Tapenio 0, Silorio 0, Yusi 0 , Montecillo 0
Quarterscores: 31-24, 48-50, 69-66, 80-74
