College of St. Benilde banked on big man Allen Liwag as the Blazers escaped the gritty plays of the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 69-65, to clinch at least a playoff for a Final Four spot in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Sunday, Oct. 27.

The burly Liwag pumped in 15 points and hauled nine rebounds for the Blazers, who cemented their hold on the top spot by improving to a 11-2 win-loss record.

Main man Winston Ynot also celebrated his return from a severe ankle injury in the first round by chipping in 14 points while collaring four boards and dishing out four assists.

EAC threatened in the last 1:28 of the game after a booming triple from Gil Quinal trimmed its deficit to 67-65.

Ynot tried to give St. Benilde more cushion by splitting his charities with 13.6 ticks left, 68-65, before the Blazers tightened their defense as Quinal lost a crucial possession that could have given EAC a chance to tie the ballgame.

The Generals failed to recover since then as they sank to a 6-7 mark in tie with the Lyceum Pirates for fifth to sixth places, just one game behind fourth-running Letran (7-7).

They also failed to avenge their 77-55 first-round loss to the Blazers last Sept. 14.

Apart from its stifling defense in the dying seconds, St. Benilde also exploded behind the arc by unloading 10 three-pointers including three from Ian Torres. It, somehow, made up for its nightmarish 17-of-33 clip from the foul line.

Harvey Pagsanjan topped EAC’s scorers with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals before fouling out, while Quinal and King Gurtiza had 12 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing effort.

In the other game, San Sebastian went on a scoring rampage in the final half as it whitewashed Arellano University, 88-75, to resuscitate its dying Final Four embers.

Tristan Felebrico exploded with 17 points including 11 in the third quarter when the Stags first made their move in turning a 46-35 deficit at halftime into a 61-57 lead at the end of the third canto.

And then SSC-R went to the troika of Nikko Aguilar, Reggz Gabat and James Maliwat in another blistering run that knocked the lights out of AU and sealed the former its fourth win against 10 defeats that kept them in the hunt.

The Chiefs stumbled to 5-9.

The scores:

First Game

ST. BENILDE 69 – Liwag 15, Ynot 14, Torres 9, Cometa 7, Eusebio 6, Sangco 5, Ondoa 4, Sanchez 3, Oli 3, Cajucom 3, Morales 0, Ancheta 0, Turco 0, Serrano 0.

EAC 65 – Pagsanjan 16, Quinal 12, Gurtiza 10, Lucero 5, Doromal 5, Loristo 4, Bacud 4, Ochavo 3, Oftana 3, Bagay 3, Angeles 0, Luciano 0, Ednilag 0, Umpad 0.

Quarters: 13-20; 34-34; 49-44; 69-65.

Second Game

SAN SEBASTIAN 88 – Felebrico 17, Aguilar 16, R. Gabat 12, Escobido 10, L. Gabat 9, Maliwat 8, Velasco 7, Ramilo 6, Lintol 2, Chuidian 1, Pascual 0, Suico 0, Cruz 0, Barroga 0.

ARELLANO 75 – Capulong 14, Abiera 11, Ongotan 10, Vinoya 8, Libang 6, Camay 6, Valencia 5, Hernal 5, Miller 4, Geronimo 3, Espiritu 3, Borromeo 0, Flores 0.

Quarters: 20-22; 35-46; 61-57; 88-75.