The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers suffered a setback against Mapua University (MU) Cardinals, 58-73, in their bid for a semifinals berth, today, Nov. 26, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, San Juan City.
While Shawn Umali won the tip and scored the first basket, Mapua came out swinging in what would be a physical opening quarter. Much of the period was a scrappy tug-of-war for the ball, leading to lulls broken only by scattered baskets. At the three-minute mark, Benilde was still within striking distance at 14-12, but the Cardinals began finding their rhythm from the short range, finishing the quarter on a 1-10 run capped by a Marc Cuenco triple to take the lead, 13-24.
The second frame saw a flurry of back-and-forth play but the familiar foes continued to take off in the paint, with a memorable one-handed dunk from Drex Delos Reyes and a trey from Ivan Lazarte. Benilde managed to get a few points on the board but the peckish Cardinals extended their lead, 27-39, heading into halftime.
Both teams picked up the pace in the third quarter, trading quick baskets and triples in the first few minutes. The Taft squad banked on its outside scoring to cut the lead to single digits, but the Cardinals remained ahead, 47-56.
In the closing stretch, outside shots from Tony Ynot and Ian Torres, along with points from the line, kept the Blazers within reach. Cuenco and Cyril Gonzales provided contributions from beyond the arc that kept the Muralla men ahead as the game wound down, 58-73.
Torres scored 9 of his 10 markers from long-range with 2 rebounds, and 3 assists while Umali added 10 points, 5 rebounds, and a block.
The Benilde Blazers now look to secure a Final Four appearance in a do-or-die showdown against the Mapua University (MU) Cardinals on Friday, Nov. 28, at FilOil EcoOil Centre, with a live telecast on Heart of Asia and the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (58): Torres 10, Umali 10, Sanchez 8, Ynot 8, Liwag 7, Gaspay 5, Ancheta 4, Cometa 3, Oli 3
MU (73): Gonzales 17, Recto 11, Cuenco 10, Delos Reyes 9, Lazarte 8, Nitura 5, Sapasap 4, Concepcion 4, Igliane 3, Escamis 2
