College of St. Benilde vented its ire on Jose Rizal University with a lopsided 84-69 victory on Tuesday, Oct. 8, to remain at the helm at the end of the first-round eliminations in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Still reeling from an ugly 73-71 loss to the Arellano Chiefs on Friday, Oct. 4, the Blazers rediscovered their touch and showed no mercy against the Bombers to finish the round with a 7-2 win-loss record.

Five players scored in double figures to carry the fight for St. Benilde, with Jhomel Ancheta pacing with 17 points and five rebounds and Gab Cometa adding 15 points spiked by three triples.

Allen Liwag and Justine Sanchez also contributed 12 points apiece while Mark Sangco pumped in a double-double effort of 12 points and 10 boards.

St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu was relieved they finally got their groove back, but added they still had a lot to work out, particularly their turnovers.

“We’re happy that we’re number one, but obviously we would have wanted a bit more breathing room kasi dikit-dikit lahat ng teams,” Tiu said.

“We still have a lot to clean up. Our concern is our turnovers, so we’ll definitely work on that,” he added.

Tiu also credit his players for doubling their efforts in stepping up after main main Winston Ynot played for only 22 seconds after spraining his left ankle during the game.

It could have been a good comeback game for Ynot, who missed the last match due to fever.

Joshua Guiab erupted for 24 points on an 11-of-13 shooting from the field while hauling seven rebounds and dishing out three assists, but it was not enough to lift JRU as it fell to a 3-6 record at the bottom standings.

In the other game, defending champion San Beda reaffirmed its mastery over Mapua with a 76-69 overtime victory in a rematch of last year’s finals.

The Red Lions limited the Cardinals to a single basket in the extra period en route to their third straight victory and a share of second place with their victims and the Letran Knights at 6-3 at the end of the first-round elims.

Yukien Andrada carried the cudgels throughout for San Beda, playing for 38 minutes and delivering with 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals and one assist.

James Payosing and Bryan Sajonia also shone with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Mapua had a chance to close out the game in the regulation but a buzzer-beating trey from Clint Escamis barely touched the rim.

In the third game, Emilio Aguinaldo College outlasted San Sebastian, 97-86, to finish the first-round elims at 4-5 in tie with University of Perpetual Help and Lyceum in the middle standings.

The Stags, however, absorbed their seventh consecutive loss to plummet in the cellar at 2-7.

The scores:

First Game

ST. BENILDE 84 – Ancheta 17, Cometa 15, Liwag 12, Sangco 12, Sanchez 12, Ondoa 9, Torres 5, Jarque 2, Eusebio 0, Cajucom 0, Ynot 0, Serrano 0.

JRU 69 – Guiab 24, Raymundo 12, Pangilinan 12, Argente 5, Mosqueda 5, Bernardo 3, De Jesus 2, Panapanaan 2, Garcia 2, Ferrer 2, Ramos 0, Benitez 0, De Leon 0, Sarmiento 0, Barrera 0.

Quarters: 27-17; 55-29; 70-47; 84-69.

Second Game

SAN BEDA 76 – Andrada 18, Payosing 15, Sajonia 10, Estacio 9, Gonzales 6, Puno 6, Lina 5, Tagle 3, Celzo 2, Royo 2, Calimag 0.

MAPUA 69 – Cuenco 20, Escamis 19, Concepcion 9, Mangubat 6, Hubilla 6, Bancale 5, Igliane 2, Jabonete 2, Ryan 0, Fermin 0.

Quarters: 19-16; 30-38; 53-53; 66-66 (reg.); 76-69 (OT).

Third Game

The scores:

EAC 97 – Pagsanjan 20, Gurtiza 14, Bagay 14, Oftana 10, Ochavo 9, Quinal 8, Luciano 7, Jacob 6, Bacud 5, Loristo 3, Lucero 2, Doromal 0, Manacho 0, Devara 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 80 – Felebrico 21, Escobido 19, Aguilar 13, R. Gabat 10, Are 7, Maliwat 3, L. Gabat 3, Cruz 2, Lintol 1, Barroga 1, Velasco 0, Pascual 0, Ricio 0

Quarters: 30-17; 54-41; 76-58; 97-80.