Rookie Chris Flores knew that he had big shoes to fill to help College of St. Benilde keep its unbeaten run.
Taking over from the injured Justin Gutang, Flores was up to the task on Thursday night as the Blazers secured a 77-72 come-from-behind win over the San Sebastian Stags in the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre.
“He’s a tough kid, very much a competitor. I can say that he will be a big part of this team’s future,” said Benilde coach Ty Tang after the Blazers streaked to their fourth consecutive triumph, their best start since 1998.
In the curtain-raiser, Bonbon Batiller buried a long three-pointer in the closing seconds as the Letran Knights outlasted the Mapua Cardinals, 89-84, for their fifth straight win after a sorry defeat at the hands of the Lyceum Pirates on opening day.
The Cardinals remained winless after five games.
“One impressive thing about him (Flores), is that he plays with a lot of heart,” added Tang of his 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Bago City, who finished with 14 points and five boards.
Flores efficiently filled in the void left by Gutang, who injured his left knee in a previous game.
Sharing the tournament lead with the defending champion San Beda Red Lions, the Blazers again claimed victory after surviving another chippy confrontation that bloodied the forehead of post defender Mark Sangco.
JM Calma elbowed a driving Sangco early in the fourth, forcing the medics to apply heavy bandage over his right eyebrow to stop the bleeding.
“It was another highly-physical encounter, and I’m glad that we were able to overcome the challenges,” said Tang.
RK Ilagan was all over the floor for the Stags with 24 points, but couldn’t help his team from plummeting to their third consecutive defeat in five games.
Unique Naboa also starred for the Blazers after containing Ilagan in the closing minutes while sinking four free throws that sealed the win.
Guard Edgar Charcos dropped a floater with 3.4 seconds remaining to lift the Perpetual Altas past the Arellano Chiefs, 75-73, in another game.
The heroic act of Charcos led them to their second win in five games and preserved the fantastic all-around performance of Kim Aurin, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and assist plus two steals.
Aurin capped his game-long brilliance by blocking Rence Alcoriza’s potential game-winning three at the buzzer. The Chiefs fell to 1-4.