MANILA, Philippines — Paolo Taha led a fourth-quarter surge as College of St. Benilde beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 87-77, in the 2014 Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup Monday at the Arena in San Juan.
Taha fired 11 of his 16 points in the final frame where the Blazers, who upped their mark to 3-2, outscored the Generals, 29-15, after trailing by as much as 10 early in the third quarter.
CSB head coach Gabby Velasco said his team managed to pull away after getting good offensive opportunities created by its running game.
The Blazers opened up the third quarter with a 10-0 run to lead, 47-37, capped by a steal and layup by Jonathan Grey with under eight minutes left.
The injury-depleted Generals fought back with their own run as the two teams got into quite a battle in the third period.
The fourth quarter though was a different story with the Blazers making the necessary adjustments primarily at the offensive end.
Sydney Onwubere had a stellar 27-point output where he barely missed from the field – going 13-of-15 – while also grabbing eight rebounds in a losing cause for EAC, which missed the services of Noube Happi.
Happi will most likely miss the remainder of the preseason due to a lingering back injury. Igee King, Francis Munsayac and John Tayongtong were also out with injuries. The Generals slid to 2-2.
The Blazers were also missing some of their key players with Mark Romero and Robert Bartolo sidelined.
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