FOR THE second straight game, the flashy guard tandem of Paolo Taha and Mark Romero came to the rescue of the College of St. Benilde Blazers.
Taha fired 27 points on top of 11 rebounds, and Romero poured 14 of his 23 points in the final quarter as the Blazers turned back the Arellano Chiefs, 106-97, in the NCAA men’s basketball Saturday at Filoil Flying V Arena.
The comeback recalled their conquest of the San Sebastian Stags from 17 points down three days ago.
“If we want to be in the Final Four, we cannot afford to lose,” said Romero, who shared the limelight with Taha in the 80-74 come-from-behind win over the Stags.
Taha first combined with the hot-shooting Raphael Nayve and Jonathan Grey as the Blazers knotted the count at 71 entering the final period.
The Blazers moved up the standings with a 9-5 record while the Chiefs, needing only two more wins to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, lost only for the fourth time in 13 games.
The Chiefs are locked a tie with the idle JRU Heavy Bombers at second place behind league-leader San Beda Red Lions (10-2).
The Chiefs downed the Blazers in the first round almost a month ago on a buzzer-beater by Nard Pinto.
The scores:
ST. BENILDE 106—Taha 27, Romero 23, Ongteco 19, Nayve 13, Grey 8, Bartolo 6, Sinco 5, Jonson 3, Pajarillaga 2, Saavedra 0.
ARELLANO 97—Holts 31, Nicholls 23, Agovida 14, Hernandez 10, Pinto 9, Ciriacruz 6, Gumaru 2, Enriquez 2, Salcedo 0, Caperal 0, Ortega 0, Cadavis 0.
Quarters: 20-28, 44-49, 71-71, 106-97