WITH rookie Jhomel Ancheta showing the way, College of St. Benilde scored a 70-62 win over defending champion San Beda University yesterday and solidified its hold of the lead going into the playoffs of the 100th NCAA men’s basketball at The Arena in San Juan.
After a lethargic effort the last time, Ancheta scored a game-high 18 points while Allen Liwag added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Blazers improved their mark to 14-3.
Justine Sanchez and Winston Ynot scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, against their former alma mater.
“We want to clinch that No. 1 spot,” said CSB coach Charles Tiu.
CSB can accomplish it if it hurdles Lyceum of the Philippines tomorrow since it has a better tiebreak against chief rival Mapua in the event of a tie.
The Lions remained at No. 3 despite skidding to 10-7.
Earlier, Arellano U played the spoiler’s role to the hilt as it eliminated Letran 70-62 and improved to 7-10.
“It’s a big win for us. Obviously, any time you play you play San Beda, they are one of the best teams here, they have a really deep lineup, a great coach that I respect, great coaching staff. It’s always a tough game. We don’t see it as sweeping them, kami we just take it one game at a time. We wanted to bounce back from that painful loss to Mapua,” Tiu said.
“We wanted to come out and win. End the season strong and hopefully, end the elimination round [as] number 1,” he added.
With less than a minute left in the fourth, Ancheta drilled in a three-pointer at the top of the arc to make it 68-62.
Bismarck Lina led the offensive load for the Mendiola-based Lions with 17 points while James Payosing and Yukien Andrada had 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
San Beda will battle San Sebastian Golden Stags on Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay on the final day of eliminations.
Big man JL Capulong led the Chiefs with a double-double performance of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Maverick Vinoya and Basti Valencia chipped in nine and eight markers, respectively.
