FILE – College of St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu during an NCAA game against JRU. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Up big, College of St. Benilde needed to survive a late comeback by Arellano University much to the dismay of Blazers’ head coach Charles Tiu.
Tiu was disappointed with how poorly St. Benilde finished the game after blowing a 20-point lead and flirting with disaster.
“I’m not happy with how the game ended. It’s always a test of seeing guys respond with composure and how they figure it out by themselves,” said Tiu after an 86-78 win in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup on Wednesday at San Juan Arena.
“Luckily for us, we were able to escape with the win but it wasn’t a nice performance.”
The Blazers took a 75-55 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before the Chiefs battled back and made it a four-point game with still 21 seconds left.
Sidney Mosqueda hit two free throws in the waning seconds to help CSB finally put away Arellano.
The Blazers, who moved to 5-3, hit 12 triples while the Chiefs only shot four from long range.
Miguel Corteza led Benilde in scoring with 14 points while Migs Oczon and Fred Pasturan tallied 11 each.
Cade Flores scored a game-high 26 points for the Chiefs, who remained winless in five games.