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| Yukien Andrada and Bryan Sajonia combined for 45 points to help San Beda hold off CSB. NCAA |
MANILA--San Beda overcame a furious fourth quarter from College of St. Benilde to escape with an 80-76 win in their NCAA men's basketball group stages second round meeting on Friday at the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan City.
Up by as much as 18 early in the fourth, the Red Lions found themselves just up one, 74-73, with exactly a minute left after the Blazers went on a 21-4 run for most of the final period.
However, Bryan Sajonia hit a huge three with 39.2 seconds left that upped San Beda's lead back to four, although Tony Ynot countered it with a triple of his own with 27.6 seconds to play.
Sajonia somehow kept CSB with multiple clutch options as he missed his second free throw with 15.4 seconds left.
However, Zach Etulle forced a jumpball situation when Justine Sanchez failed to control the rebound, giving the ball back to San Beda, with the possession arrow pointing to them, with 12.7 seconds remaining.
Sajonia tried a "nakaw play" as he got past Josh Cajucom's defense, only to miss the layup, but Nygel Gonzales prevented Sanchez again from securing the rebound, and Janti Miller, who recovered the ball, hit two dagger free throws with six seconds remaining.
Yukien Andrada led the Red Lions, now solely number one again in Group B with a 7-3 record, with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, and two assists.
Sajonia added 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long range, four rebounds, and one assist, while Miller contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.
Ynot finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two assists for the Blazers, who dearly missed Allen Liwag as they dropped to 6-4.
Liwag will be out for possibly the rest of November after injuring his shoulder against Mapua on Tuesday, which also means he will sit out the rest of the group stages.
San Beda swept its group stage series against CSB, giving the former a crucial edge as the race for playoff positioning in the perceived "group of death" remains tight.
The scores:
San Beda 80 - Andrada 23, Sajonia 22, Miller 11, Estacio 7, Etulle 5, Gonzales 4, Reyes 4, Lina 4, Celzo 0, Calimag 0, Bonzalida 0, Culdora 0, Puno 0
CSB 76 - Ynot 21, Umali 16, Cajucom 9, Celis 8, Sanchez 6, Torres 5, Ancheta 4, Gaspay 3, Cometa 2, Morales 2, Moore 0, Eusebio 0, Oli 0, Galas 0
Quarterscores: 17-21, 43-35, 68-52, 80-76
