INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE) Mapua Institute of Technology blasted slumping Emilio Aguinaldo, 74-65, Friday in the 86th NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

Dynamic duo of Erwin Cornejo and Allan Mangahas paced the Cardinals anew with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Earlier, St. Benilde notched its first back to back wins following a pulsating 71-69 triumph over Arellano.

Mark De Guzman registered a team-high 19 points for the Blazers, who improved to 4-8 and kept their slim final four hopes alive.

Gerald Lapuz had the chance to get the lead back to the Chiefs but missed both of his freebies with 5.3 ticks left before De Guzman set the final count with a split on the charity stripe.

The Chiefs main man Andrian Celada topscored with 24 points.

Despite the loss, Arellano remained in semifinal contention with a 4-7 slate.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are now in the better position to clinch the fourth spot with a 7-4 record, standing three full games ahead of fifth place Arellano.