College of St. Benilde averted a fourth quarter meltdown and turned back San Sebastian, 100-94, to capture its second straight win in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Friday, Sept. 16, at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.
Just when the Blazers almost pulled away for good after a fiery third quarter, the Stags showed steely nerves, fought for dear life, and cut their 25-point deficit down to 10 only in the payoff period.
Sans its head coach Charles Tiu, who was feeling under the weather, St. Benilde showed a reason why it is a contender this season as Miguel Oczon, Will Gozum, Miguel Corteza, and JC Cullar stepped up big time and tallied double-digits.
Oczon and Gozum posted 25 and 23 points, respectively, both on a 7-of-14 shooting while Corteza chalked up 18 points.
Cullar contributed 11 points and six assists as the four of them combined for 15 rebounds, enabling the Blazers to take a perfect 2-0 record.
St. Benilde assistant coach Paolo Layug cited the win as a team effort and credited the system built both by Tiu and former head tactician Ty Tang.
"They (coaches Tiu and Tang) empower us coaches, us assistant coaches and coach Charles has full trust in our entire coaching staff. It's really a collaborative effort," said St. Benilde assistant tactician. "It was a team effort as well for the coaching staff to try and figure this game out."
With less than four minutes left, San Sebastian overcame adversity after adversity sparked by a Romel Calajat three-pointer before Gozum responded with a trey of his own as St. Benilde still led by 11 points.
The Stags held on from that point and uncorked an 8-2 run down the stretch capped by a feisty drive from Itchie Altamirano to trail at 99-94 with a minute left.
Chaos ensued in the next couple of plays as Gozum splitting his free throw, Calajat missing a potential momentum-changing three, and James Pasturan stepping out of bounds in transition.
A review wasn't granted for St. Benilde though but Ammar Cosari just couldn't convert a close basket off a Rafael Are dish, dealing San Sebastian a heartbreaker and a 1-1 slate.
Calajat paced the Stags with 21 points on a 6-of-11 shooting along with eight rebounds while Altamirano and Kenneth Villapando scored 16 and 10 points each.
Second Game
CSB (100) -- Oczon 25, Gozum 23, Corteza 18, Cullar 11, Pasturan 8, Nayve 4, Lepalam 4, Carlos 4, Sangco 3, Flores 0, Mara 0, Marcos 0.
SSC-R (94) -- Calahat 21, Altamirano 16, Villapando 10, Desoyo 9, Are 8, Sumoda 7, Escobido 5, Shanoda 5, Yambing 5, Una 3, Cosari 2, Suico 2, Felebrico 1, Concha 0.
Quarterscores: 28-20, 46-38, 81-62, 100-94