The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers regained their rhythm with a commanding 82-64 victory over the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Golden Stags on Oct. 22 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Stags were eager to rewrite their fortunes in the opening minutes, capitalizing on early turnovers to carve a 4-8 edge. Stepping up for the Blazers’ offense, Jio Gonzaga chipped in six points and a steal to ignite the rally. A timely triple from Raffy Celis swung the momentum, while crisp ball movement around the arc soon found Matthew Oli wide open for his second trey of the quarter that electrified the green crowd. At the end of the first frame, the Taft squad wrestled back control, 19-14.
The reunited crew tightened their grip in the second quarter, outscoring the feisty Recto side by double digits behind the return of Allen Liwag. Back after three games off, Liwag immediately made his presence felt by cleaning up missed shots and dominating the paint. Firing on all cylinders, the Blazers pulled away to a 42-24 advantage at the half.
San Sebastian showed signs of life in the third, trimming the deficit to 10. Yet, Liwag continued to power inside with support from Oli and Ian Torres as the Blazers rebuilt a comfortable margin. Justine Sanchez cleaned up the boards with back-to-back putbacks, helping maintain a 63-43 advantage entering the final frame.
Jhuniel Dela Rama remained the lone bright star for the red and gold, hustling to keep them afloat in the fourth, but with Tony Ynot steering the offense and Liwag leading the charge, Benilde cruised to an 82-64 win, returning to the win column with a 5-2 record.
Player of the Game Liwag marked his return with a commanding performance, posting 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Blazers aim to carry their momentum against the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) Altas on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City with a live telecast on Heart of Asia and the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (82): Liwag 19, Sanchez 16, Oli 10, Morales 9, Gonzaga 6, Torres 4, Celis 3, Gaspay 3, Umali 3, Daja 3, Ynot 2, Moore 2, Cometa 2
SSC-R (64): Dela Rama 20, Felebrico 12, Gabat 9, Ricio 9, Velasco 7, Cuajao 3, Nepacena 2, Lumanag 2
