COLLEGE of St. Benilde trounced Perpetual Help 61-56 yesterday for its seventh straight win in the 100th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
The Blazers, who have already clinched a Final Four berth, turned to forward Justine Sanchez who responded with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal while big man Allen Liwag added 10 markers, six boards, two steals, a dime and a block.
“We expect din naman to come out much better than the first time we play them (Perpetual), give them a lot of credit. They really defended us really well. Any team with coach Olsen (Racela) is very systematic. We still found a way to win. It’s good for us. We need this type of game to get better. Obviously, we could end the game better,” CSB coach Charles Tiu said after his wards rose to 12-2, still on top of the 10-team field.
“We can’t relax. Our goal right now is to finish in the top two, to get the twice-to-beat advantage because you know it’s tough here in the NCAA so we have to finish strong,” he added.
Earlier, Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals locked in solo fourth with a 68-58 win over Letran.
Harvey Pagsanjan and Nino Ochavo took charge for the Generals with 13 and 10 points, respectively, as they also boosted their Final Four hopes.
“Nanalo kami. The game plan was perfectly executed by the boys offensively and defensively so we move on to the next game,” EAC strategist Jerson Cabiltes said.
“Wala naman kuwenta itong panalo if we’re not gonna win our last four games.”
The Generals improved to 7-7 while the Knights limped to 7-8.
The league will take a short break in observance of the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day and will resume Tuesday next week at the same venue.
