The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers towered over the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R), 87-72, after Miguel Oczon scored a career-high 29 points, on Oct. 7, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
In the first quarter, after the Stags started with a couple of buckets, the Blazers scored seven unanswered points to bring the game to 7-4. Oczon teased a career game from the start as he buried multiple three-pointers. After a Mark Sangco lay-in off a Robi Nayve dish that got the scoreboard to 15-13, a Raymart Escobido steal followed, leading to a fastbreak, 15-15. After another Escobido layup to end the quarter, the Blazers saw themselves down by three, 17-20.
The second quarter went at a similar tempo, but this time in Benilde’s favor. After Nayve made a layup to get the Blazers within one, Escobido carried over that fire from the first quarter, as a layup from him got the Stags back up by three, 19-22. Will Gozum got the Taft squad in rhythm with a highlight side-stepping layup and a bulldozing two-pointer to give the Blazers the lead, 23-22. While the offensive side had Oczon and Zenric Jarque swishing threes, and Miguel Corteza converting on layups, the defensive game for the Blazers saw a switch up, as they pressured the Stags’ backcourt. The scheme worked, as the Taft squad piled up a lead as big as eight. Romel Calahat’s free throws and Rafael Are’s aggression helped the Stags to stay afloat though, as the halftime scoreboard read 43-39.
The third quarter was a balanced one, and gritty at that, as it saw numerous consecutive defensive highlight plays from both sides. From chasedown blocks, fastbreak-stopping steals, to tight double teams, both squads were not letting each other score. While some baskets made it a back-and-forth game, Oczon’s stars aligned, as back-to-back threes by the Benilde star guard, including a tightly-contested one that beat the shot clock buzzer, got the Blazers up by seven, 51-44. Jessie Sumoda’s wrestle with the Blazers bigs and extreme aggression from Are kept the Stags within range. The Blazers, however, had a man ready right when his number was called. Jesse Arciaga was huge for the men in green and white, who impacted them instantly on both ends of the court. Offensive rebounds was the name of the game for Benilde, as they led the game by the end of the quarter with a score of 64-59.
The final 12 minutes of the game was a combination of San Sebastian mistakes and great offensive execution from the Blazers. While Oczon was the Batman of the game, Nayve was the Robin, as he made threes and layups on his way to break the spell from past games. The Golden Stags’ lack of playmaking from their big men dug them a hole, as their deficit got as deep at 18. After more three-pointers from Oczon, Felipe Marasigan, and easy buckets from Gozum, the Blazers finally took a breather with the final score of 87-72.
Oczon had the game of his life so far, as his 29 points on 50% shooting that included 7-11 from three was his career-high. While Corteza and Sangco had an off-game, it was Nayve’s turn to have a good one himself, as his 16 points on 50% shooting was his best game of the season by far. A scoreless game from Carlos was made up for by his excellent playmaking, with seven assists.
The Blazers look to build on to this much-needed win on Oct. 10 against the UPHSD Altas. The game will be available to watch live on NCAA Philippines’ Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (87) - Oczon 29, Nayve 16, Gozum 13, Arciaga 9, Marasigan 6, Turco 5, Corteza 4, Jarque 3, Sangco 2, Carlos 0, Cajucom 0, Marcos 0, Morales 0.
SSC-R (72) - Are 15, Escobido 13, Calahat 12, Una 8, Sumoda 7, Gabat 5, Shanoda 5, Felebrico 3, Desoyo 3, Gabat 1, Bacani 0, De Leon 0
