The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers overpowered the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 88-76, after Miguel Oczon made it rain with 29 points in the SBP Invitational Games on June 28 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
The sister school affair started with a Ben Phillips and-one right off the tip. After Phillips drew first blood, the Blazers couldn’t respond for a minute and a half as they missed their first three shot attempts. Vhoris Marasigan of DLSU stacked on to the hopeful start of the archers as they had the game on hand with a 4-0 lead. Prince Carlos then finally broke the ice for the Blazers as he made a mid-range shot and a euro step to knot things up at 4-4.
After Henry Agunanne made a basket, Miguel Oczon started to turn on the burner as he hit a three-pointer off the screen, giving the Blazers a one-point lead. A Miguel Corteza layup and another three from Oczon forced the Archers to call a timeout. After the timeout and two free throws from Elaijah Gollena, the game saw a back-and-forth play with no baskets for four straight possessions, until Corteza and Oczon combined for a 9-4 run leading to another timeout call at the 2:25 mark.
The Green Archers only achieved two points from a Raven Cortez layup, while the Blazers ended the first quarter on yet another Oczon three-point make, a Zenric Jarque three-pointer, and three straight fastbreak layups from Oczon, Jarque, and Michael Mara, 33-16.
The second quarter started with a Jarque three. Jarque provided a highlight play on defense as he successfully did a chasedown block on Jake Gaspay’s fastbreak dunk attempt. After a Jessie Arciaga layup that brought Benilde to a 20-point lead, DLSU gained a bit of traction as by a timeout at the 3:23 mark, they were down by only 13. The Green Archers even cut the lead to single digits, thanks to Anfernee Estacio and Gollena, forcing Benilde Coach Charles Tiu to set his boys up with a timeout at the 1:41 mark. The timeout proved to be a success, as Corteza and Carlos by themselves built a 7-0 run to conclude halftime, 51-36.
The third quarter started with Green Archer Vhoris Marasigan and Blazer Felipe Marasigan exchanging three-pointers. However, after six unanswered points by Corteza and Oczon, the Green Archers burned a timeout to talk things over with a 21-point lead for the opposing court. After the timeout, none of the Blazers except seven points from Jarque could answer DLSU’s dominant run led by Gollena, Estacio and Cortez, suddenly becoming an eight-point game by the end of the third, 67-59.
The final quarter kicked things off with Gaspay trying to inch the Archers closer as the lead was cut to six. However, along with Will Gozum, Paul Turco, and Corteza’s contributions inside the paint, it was Oczon who ballistically scored 13 points all in the ending quarter, not to mention the three three-pointers that came with it. The Blazers pulled away and grabbed the win over their Taft neighbors with a final score of 88-76.
“‘Di ko naman iniisip to score that much…” Oczon shared in an interview with The Benildean, who emphasized on trying to get his mechanics right that got him to score 29 points on efficient shooting. He also stated how he “earned” the green light on offense the way coach Tiu “trusted” him.
Gozum expressed in the same interview that these games before the NCAA season should “build character and good habits,” especially with the help of hiring a foreign consultant in coach Zoran Martic.
Jarque and Corteza each scored 17 points. Oczon shot 6/11 from deep (54.5%). Sangco led the Blazers in both rebounds and assists with seven for both categories.
BOX SCORE:
DLS-CSB (88) - Oczon 29, Jarque 17, Corteza 17, Carlos 8, Gozum 6, Marasigan 3, Turco 2, Mara 2, Arciaga 2, Jalalon 2, Sangco 0, Cajucom 0.
DLSU (76) - Gollena 19, Marasigan 16, Cortez 15, Phillips 9, Estacio 6, Agunanne 5, Gaspay 4, Buensalida 2, Jucom 0, Reyes 0, Alian 0, San Agustin 0.
