Blazers shoot down Chiefs for 1st win
By Rick Olivares
Three playing dates of NCAA Season 86 had gone by with every team having played a game except for the College of Saint Benilde. “We’re still undefeated,” joked head coach Richard del Rosario last week.
And after the final whistle of their 70-64 win over Arellano University, the Blazers had their real first of the season. “We’ve won our opening games in the past four years,” noted del Rosario who put a damper on excessive celebrations. “But after that we lost two straight and could never get any consistency.”
The Blazers took control of the game from the start and never let the out-of-sync Chiefs into it. From a slim 59-55 lead by the end of the 3rd canto, the Chiefs self-destructed with three crucial turnovers in the opening minutes of the final period of play. The Blazers scored 7 points off them from contributions from Jan Tan, Mark de Guzman, and Christian de la Paz that put some distance between the two teams, a lead that CSB maintain towards the end.
Arellano head coach Leo Isaac dispatched the 5’3” Leonard Anquilo into the fray and Benilde’s lead shrunk down to two after forward Jerald Lapuz scored on a putback 66-64. But AU’s inability to get off a good shot with time running down on their shot clock told heavily on their endgame. First year Blazer Carlo Lastimosa, the nephew of former all-pro Jojo Lastimosa, put in the finishing touches on Arellano highlighted with a nifty alley-oop lay up from backcourt mate de Guzman.
With four seconds left in the game, the Blazers began to prematurely celebrate. After Lapuz gave a duty foul on de Guzman, the Benilde guard threw the ball at the Chief and was assessed a technical foul. Andrian Celada miss both free throws. Along with a missed trey during Arellano’s prior possession, it could have been a five-point swing.
Benilde had their win. “Right now, it’s a battle for consistency. It was obvious more so in the endgame. We’re going to have to mature fast because here in the NCAA, every game is a battle.”
The undefeated Blazers will be playing the hitherto undefeated San Sebastian Golden Stags next Wednesday July 14 at the San Juan Arena.
CSB 70 – De Guzman 14, Lastimosa 13, Tan 12, Nayve 10, de la Paz 7, Sinco 6, Argamino 3, McCoy 2, Ongtenco 2, Abolucion 1, Mañalac 0
AU 64 – Lapuz 16, Celada 13, Ciriacruz 10, del Rosario 7, Acidre 6, Anquilo 4, Caperal 4, Zulueta 2, Advincula 2, Palma 0, Casiño 0, Virtudazo 0
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