St. Benilde Blazers in the NCAA Season 97. NCAA/GMA PHOTO
Will Gozum exerted himself marvelously on both ends of the floor that propelled College of St. Benilde to a methodical 71-62 win over San Sebastian in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Friday at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.
Locked in an individual tussle with JM Calma all game long, Gozum overpowered the opposition with 18 points and 12 rebounds on top of four blocks and three steals in an unparalleled effort on the floor.
The Blazers thus broke out of a two-game skid and got back on track with their fifth win in eight games while sending the Stags flopping to a 3-5 record in peril of hanging on to their current sixth ranking with just one game to play in the elminations.
Robi Nayve came out of a slump by firing three threes, finishing 17 points for the Blazers, who restrained the Stags to a lone field goal in the final eight minutes.
Calma, unable to contain Gozum in the paint, was the lone bright spot for an error-prone San Sebastian side with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The scores
ST. BENILDE 71 — Gozum 18, Nayve 17, Corteza 10, Carlos 9, Benson 9, Cullar 4, Flores 3, Marcos 1, Davis 0, Sangco 0, Lepalam 0, Mosqueda 0, Publico 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 62 — Calma 25, Calahat 8, Villapando 6, Cosari 6, Altamirano 5, Dela Cruz 5, Desoyo 3, Abarquez 2, Shanoda 2, Are 0, Felebrico 0, Concha 0.
Quarters: 12-12, 26-28, 50-50, 71-62.