The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers emerged victorious in an intense battle against the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals, 69-65, extending their winning streak to five, today, Oct. 27, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
A solid outing by Kyle Ochavo, Harvey Pagsanjan, and King Gurtiza kicked off the match with a scorching 10-1 run for the Generals. On the other side of the court, the Blazers’ points only came from free throws by Allen Liwag and Justine Sanchez, 4-10. Thankfully, Gab Cometa fired up for the Taft squad to cut the deficit, 13-20.
As the men donning red and white continued their momentum, Joshua Cajucom and Roger Ondoa revived the Blazers with back-to-back baskets closing the gap, 23-26. In a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, EAC’s floor general Axel Doromal nailed an impressive reverse layup. However, consecutive triples by Cometa, Tony Ynot, and Mark Sangco handed the Blazers the lead for the first time in the entire game. Doromal followed suit with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at halftime, 34-34.
The third quarter witnessed a see-saw battle as both teams played more aggressively on both ends of the court. Pagsanjan and Gurtiza continued to anchor the Ermita squad. However, an Ian Torres three-pointer and a Liwag layup allowed the Blazers to pull away with a five-point lead to close the quarter, 49-44.
The Ermita squad marched on to the final period with a 6-0 run with Nico Quinal leading the way with nine points in the quarter. In what seemed to be a neck-and-neck battle, Ynot and Torres made their presence felt in crunch time, pitching in six points apiece. Ultimately, free throws by Cometa sealed the victory for the Blazers, 69-65.
Liwag was named player of the game with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists.
The Blazers will face the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) Altas as they look to secure a Final Four spot on Oct. 30 at the same venue with a live telecast on GTV, Heart of Asia, and the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (69): Liwag 15, Ynot 14, Torres 9, Cometa 7, Eusebio 6, Sangco 5, Ondoa 4, Sanchez 3, Oli 3, Cajucom 3
EAC (65): Pagsanjan 16, Quinal 12, Gurtiza 10, Lucero 5, Doromal 5, Loristo 4, Bacud 4, Ochavo 3, Oftana 3, Bagay 3
