The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers were edged out by the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals in the PinoyLiga Next Man cUP Finals, 93-95, on May 4 at the Enderun College Gym in Taguig City.

The EAC Generals marched into battle by kicking off the game with an 8-0 run courtesy of Rico Postanes and Joshua Tolentino. However, Ernest Daja, Jake Gaspay, and Ian Torres stepped up for the Blazers to tie the match at the end of the first frame, 20-20. The second canto continued to be a back-and-forth affair between the two squads as the Taft squad only separated themselves by a point at the half, 48-47.

As EJ Castillo came alive for the men in red and white, the Blazers remained steady under the leadership of Torres and Shawn Umali to counter his scoring streak, 65-64. Just when the Blazers seemed to have closed out the game in their favor with a four-point lead, Cris Shanoda and Marvin Raymundo quickly tied the match to send the game to overtime, 86-86. 

However, the pesky Generals proved to be too much for the Blazers who ran out of steam in crunch time as Raymundo made the game-winning basket to seal the victory, 93-95.

Despite a perfect campaign in the PinoyLiga Next Man cUP, the Benilde Blazers endured their first loss at the finals to cap off the tournament as the first runner-up. Jio Gonzaga was chosen into the Mythical 5 while Coach Paolo Layug was hailed as the Best Coach of the Season.