College of St. Benilde managed to tighten its grip on the top spot in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the expense of San Sebastian, but head coach Charlies Tiu was not happy.

In fact, he was fuming mad.

“It’s one of the worst games I’ve been a part of in this type of team. We’re just lucky we got away with the win,” said an upset Tiu moments after the Blazers escaped the Stags in overtime, 96-94, for a 6-1 record on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

He has reasons to be. His stalwarts appeared headed to a lopsided victory with a comfortable 17-point lead, 78-61, at the end of three quarters, only to lose steam and scrape past the Stags.

Worse, the Blazers led by as many as 26, 67-41, midway the third quarter and were held to just nine points against the Stags' 26 in the fourth.

Tiu admitted he was at a loss for words.

“To be honest, I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I wish I knew. I’m looking for an explanation or an excuse for us on how this happened.”

The stats could hold some answers, though.

For starters, the Blazers gave away 33 points off their woeful 31 turnovers -- 15 of those points coming in the fourth quarter alone.

St. Benilde also struggled with only two field goals out of 10 attempts in the final canto, while making 5-of-9 in the charity stripe.

It also didn’t help that the Blazers struggled with only six second-chance points against the Stags’ 18, while also allowing San Sebastian to dish out 20 steals -- seven from the payoff period.

One thing was sure, though. Tiu and the Blazers would be back to the drawing board.

“We’re a Final Four team at the very least, I think, so for us to be playing like this is like high school,” Tiu said. 

“Actually, parang grade school pa nga kami maglaro ngayon, so we really have to do a better job,” he added.

Tiu, however, credited San Sebastian's resolve, as evidenced by the Stags stunning fourth-quarter run.

The Blazers have two days to regain their usual fiery momentum as they clash with Arellano, which was near the bottom at 2-5, on Friday, Oct. 4.