The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers succumbed to the Mapua University (MU) Cardinals, 71-75, as the Taft squad received their second straight loss in NCAA Season 99 today, Oct. 4, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Blazers opened the ball game by getting the first possession, with Will Gozum slashing and drawing an immediate foul to split his free throw charities, 1-0. A drive attempt by Prince Carlos gave an opportunity for Paul Turco to receive the ball and score easily under the rim, 3-0. The Taft squad showed impressive hustling on the defensive end to limit the scoring of the Cardinals, but an inefficient offensive tempo hindered them to extend the lead. Gozum suddenly broke the silence and successfully nailed a step back jumper beyond the arc, followed by a fastbreak floater by Carlos, 8-4. Gozum continued the scoring load after drawing a foul, eventually making the charities, 10-4. Joshua Cajucom made sure to make his presence felt early in the game as he managed to score from under the rim and made a three-point shot from the top of the paint, 15-4. The leading scorer of the Blazers, Miguel Corteza, tallied a quick three-pointer from the corner to maintain the good offensive tempo, 18-10. An impressive offensive blueprint is shown by the Blazers, as successful opposite motion cuts and dribble drive options were being implemented by the head tactician, Charles Tiu. The quarter ended in favor of the Blazers, 18-11.
The second quarter was opened by a mid-range jumper by Cardinal Resty Fornis, 18-13. Corteza opened the scoring for the Blazers, making a 6-0 run, with a quick tear drop from the post, a spot-up three, and free throw shot, 24-15. But, Mapua’s Paolo Hernandez ignited to cut down the lead with a three-point shot, 24-20. Miguel Oczon displayed his shot-creating abilities with a turn-around fade away jumper from the perimeter, 26-20. Turnovers hit the Blazers hard as the Cardinals managed to convert those turnovers into points, headed by Clint Escamis and Hernandez, 26-26. Gozum halted the run of the Cardinals with an and-one play, 29-26. The boys in green and white took advantage of their inside scoring as Turco and team captain, Robi Nayve, managed to score from beneath the rim, 36-28. The Blazers took advantage of the penalty situation against the Cardinals as Cajucom drew a foul and split the charities, 37-30, ending the first half in favor of the Blazers.
The third quarter switched the tale of the tape as Benilde had a two-minute scoring drought entering the period. Oczon broke the drought with a contested fade away jumper from the mid-range, 39-36. Gozum showed his outstanding agility after nailing a side-step lay up, before Oczon managed to drop back-to-back fade away jumpers, 45-38. But Hernandez still provided a strong resistance for the Blazers after dropping a three-point play, 45-41. The game was suddenly filled with stops as both teams were committing turnovers. Macoy Marcos cut the scoring drought with a free throw, 46-42. Nayve then took the floor general task in the quarter as he successfully dropped the ball down to an open Corteza underneath the basket, 48-44. The Cardinals were still in a resistant position to extend the gap as they kept answering the Blazers. Another Corteza drop from beneath was initiated by a drop pass by Mark Sangco, 52-48. Nayve managed to draw a foul and sink two free throws to end the quarter in their favor, 54-50.
Oczon commenced the scoring in the fourth quarter after finding an open spot from the perimeter, 56-50. The Blazers’ aggressiveness didn’t work out to be efficient as the team was put early on the penalty situation with seven minutes left, and with Gozum committing three straight fouls to eventually be fouled out. A big block by Carlos on Escamis prevented the trailing Cardinals to tie the game, as Nayve drew a foul on the other end, 58-54. Hernandez took the size advantage against Carlos to convert a three-point play and eventually snatch the lead, 58-59. Oczon found his way to draw a foul and split his charities to tie the game at 59. A drive by Carlos kept the game at 61, but the Blazers suddenly started trailing. Corteza maintained his craft at the post to draw a foul and immediately converted two free throws, 63-65. A drop pass by Oczon found an open Sangco for an easy score underneath, 65-67. Sangco pushed the efforts to snatch the lead after making a teardrop from the post to tie the game, 68-68. The penalty situation added another problem to the Blazers as a foul on Hernandez led to two successful free throws, 68-70. Oczon took the heroic deeds as he tallied a dagger three-point shot to claim the lead with 35 seconds left, 71-70. But the kick out play to Hernandez slipped past the defense, resulting in a wide open perimeter jumper to take the lead in favor of the Cardinals, 71-72. Seeking a redemption play, the Blazers committed a crucial turnover as the ball slipped out of the hands of Nayve with three seconds left in the play. Intentional fouls were dropped to Hernandez, as he sank his charities to give the Blazers another loss, 71-75.
Corteza stood as the best Blazer on the court with 15 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a block. He is followed by Oczon with 14 points and 2 assists.
Catch the Blazers as they face the San Sebastian College Recoletos (SSCR) Golden Stags next on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, with live coverage in the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (71): Corteza 15, Oczon 14, Gozum 11, Nayve 8, Turco 8, Cajucom 6, Carlos 4, Sangco 4, Marcos 1, Marasigan 0, Mara 0, Jarque 0
MU (75): Hernandez 22, Escamis 12, Soriano 12, Recto 8, Cuenco 7, Bonifacio 6, Fornis 4, Rosillo 2, Bancale 2, Igliane 0, Asuncion 0, Dalisay 0
