At A Glance
- The Blazers, who bowed to the Cardinals for the crown, improved to a 6-3 win-loss record in Group B to keep their hold of the second spot.
Tony Ynot stars for College of St. Benilde. (NCAA Media)
College of St. Benilde dominated Mapua, 75-65, in a rematch of last season’s finalists in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Blazers, who bowed to the Cardinals for the crown, improved to a 6-3 win-loss record in Group B to keep their hold of the second spot.
The victory somehow gave St. Benilde some much-needed breathing room in the team standings, but coach Charles Tiu wasn’t exactly thrilled with how they played.
“We had to take care of the ball which we did in the first half but we made mind-boggling mistakes in the second half,” said Tiu.
“Thankfully, we defended well enough to win the game,” he added.
Tony Ynot paced the Blazers with an all-around game of 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal, while reigning MVP Allen Liwag posted a double-double performance of 12 points and 10 boards.
The Blazers fell into a maze of errors, turning the ball over 21 times. The defending champion Cardinals also didn’t make things any easier, racking up 10 steals.
Still, those mistakes weren’t enough to slow the momentum St. Benilde built in the first quarter, where they cruised to an 18-0 lead and held on.
Mapua cut the lead to six, 58-64, in the third quarter but faltered in the fourth, unable to sustain their rally.
Cyrus Cuenco finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Earl Sapasap scored 13 points in a losing effort to the Cardinals, who still remained at second in Group A despite slipping to a 4-5 card.