Miguel Oczon caught fire in the payoff period and drained key baskets to lift College of St. Benilde against San Beda, 78-69, in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Oczon dropped 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and sizzled down the stretch as he shot three three-pointers to douse the 28-point explosion of James Kwekuteye.
Oczon, who shot 7-of-13 from the field highlighted by five triples, and Miguel Corteza connived for an 8-0 run en route to a 69-63 lead before JB Bahio and Justine Sanchez retaliated on behalf of the Red Lions.
JC Cullar made a key defensive stop down the last two minutes and easily converted a basket from coast-to-coast off a swipe from Kwekuteye.
Oczon then hit a dagger three with 51.9 seconds left to virtually secure the win for the Blazers, who improved to a 7-1 record to top the leaderboard.
Bahio responded with a split free throw in the ensuing play, which was obviously not enough for the Lions, before Oczon drove for the layup with 30 seconds left for a comfortable 76-67 cushion.
Peter Alfaro converted a basket in the waning seconds but Cullar finally iced the game with a pair of free throws.
Will Gozum also had a monster double-double performance of 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, Corteza finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Robi Nayve had 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
St. Benilde played the spoiler's role on Kwekuteye's 28-point and eight-rebound production, which turned out to be his career-high.
Gab Cometa also chalked up 10 points and six rebounds for San Beda, which slipped to a 5-4 record, while Bahio delivered nine points and 11 rebounds as well.