Hard-luck Blazers go up against Stags today

HOST St. Benilde tries to finally get over the hump when it battles San Sebastian today in the NCAA Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Blazers, languishing in the cellar at 0-4,  hope to put behind a string of heartbreaking defeats in the 6 p.m. duel with the Stags, who are looking to nail back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

Perpetual Help tries to tie San Beda for second at 4-1 when it clashes with Arellano in the first game at 4 p.m.

Both the Altas and the Chiefs were tipped as contenders at the start of the season, making this an interesting showdown to watch.

A victory by the Stags will give them a share of fourth spot with the Jose Rizal U Bombers, who dumped the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals, 85-79, to improve to 3-2 last Monday.

The Blazers could have easily gone unbeaten, but tough endgame breaks doomed them in their first four games, which they lost by a combined margin of five points.

Against Letran last Saturday, the Blazers were left undone when Luis Sinco could only make one of three free throws in the dying seconds as the Knights escaped with a 61-60 victory, just a couple of days after JRU dealt St. Benilde a 73-71 overtime loss.

“It’s been a tough learning experience for the team but I really hope we can finally get our season on track,” said coach Gabby Velasco.