COLLEGE of St. Benilde gets another shot at ending a decades-long title dry spell.
The Blazers are determined more than ever to finally get over the hump when they take on the Mapua University Cardinals in the Big Dance of the 100th NCAA basketball tournament.
“It feels good, obviously, you know, for Benilde. I really wanted to do it for the school. The school had a lot of dark days in the NCAA, you know, it’s been 20-plus years to make the Final Four,” CSB coach Charles Tiu said. “So, obviously our goal is to win a championship, but siyempre it’s still an achievement for us to make it to the finals.
“It says a lot about the hard work the guys put in, so it’s a good feeling and, you know, to dethrone, at least to eliminate (San) Beda which is always the best school in the NCAA. I mean, to find a way to win was really big for us,” he added.
Game 1 of the best-of-3 finals is set for Dec. 1, Sunday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Blazers, bidding to win it all since 2000, dethroned the erstwhile defending champions San Beda University Red Lions with a 79-63 rout in the Final Four last Saturday behind Allen Liwag, Tony Ynot and Jhomel Ancheta.
Mapua showed Lyceum the door 89-79 also in the Last Four for a second straight trip to the titular round. The Cards fell to the Lions in three games last year.
