MICHAEL Mabulac (middle) of JRU drives hard against the Letran double team of Jamil Gabawan and Reneford Ruaya. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
SUSTAINING its fiery form, St. Benilde overcame a shorthanded Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-76, last night to gain a share of third spot in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Blazers pounced on the absence of Cameroonian center Noube Happi while leaning on another big game from Paolo Taha as they surpassed their win total from last season with their sixth victory in 10 games.
Taha, who has applied for Sunday’s PBA Draft, pumped in 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second and third quarters where the Blazers established a double-digit buffer which they kept despite a scrambling finish.
“It’s a win but honestly we’re not too happy with our fourth quarter [performance],” said Blazers coach Gabby Velasco.
“We were up by 20 points and we almost lost the lead. We were not smart enough.”
Earlier, Mark Cruz delivered the telling blows in the extra period as Letran turned back Jose Rizal U, 84-77, in overtime.
Cruz poured 10 of his 26 points in the overtime period, including a pair of triples that lifted the Knights, 78-72, with 3:05 remaining.
The Knights forced overtime at 70-all after Jamil Gabawan scored on a lay-up off a well-executed inbound play with 29 seconds left in regulation.
“I’m just happy we did not give up in the end,” said Letran coach Caloy Garcia. “We started out really flat.”
The loss snapped the four-game winning run of the Bombers, who fell into a tie for third spot with the Blazers.
The Knights moved into solo seventh spot after improving to 4-7.
Noube was sidelined by a recurring back injury and the Blazers took full advantage with Taha scoring inside the paint at will.
The Blazers looked headed for a blowout win when they took a 61-41 lead midway in the third period but a technical foul-aided 14-2 run by the Generals set the stage for a tight finish.
Mark Romero nailed a short stab with 32.6 seconds remaining to make it 81-74.
The scores:
First Game
LETRAN 84—Cruz 26, Nambatac 21, Tambeling 12, Quinto 8, Racal 7, Gabawan 5, Saldua 3, Ruaya 2, Luib 0, Dela Peña 0, Singotiko 0, Publico 0.
JRU 77—Paniamogan 26, Abdul Wahab 13, Mabulac 10, Lasquety 8, Sanchez 6, Teodoro 5, Asuncion 4, Grospe 3, Benavides 2, Balagtas 0.
Quarters: 9-14, 34-33, 58-57, 70-70 (reg) 84-77
Second Game
ST BENILDE 83—Taha 24, Grey 14, Romero 10, Ongteco 9, Bartolo 7, Jonson 6, Mercado 3, Deles 2, Nayve 2, Pajarillaga 2, Saavedra 2, Altamirano 1, Sinco 1.
EAC 76—Onwubere 19, Aguilar 17, Tayongtong 15, Jamon 11, Serrano 9, Arquero 5, Mejos 0, Pascual 0, Saludo 0, Santos 0.
Quarters: 16-16, 39-35, 63-55, 83-76