St. Benilde Blazers celebrate clinching the twice-to-beat in the NCAA Season 98. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—College of St. Benilde clinched a twice-to-beat advantage after defeating San Beda, 82-73, in its final game of the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament elimination round at San Juan Arena on Tuesday.
The Blazers, who finished with a 14-4 record sufficient for a top two spot, used a blistering 19-5 run in the third quarter to take a pivotal 61-56 lead after being down at the half, 42-51.
San Beda got close in the fourth quarter, 80-73, but Migs Oczon sank the pivotal fadeaway shot of the game to keep the Blazers in the driver’s seat, 82-73, with 1:08 remaining in the game en route to the win.
With St. Benilde’s win, the matchups for the semifinals will depend on Letran’s game tomorrow against Jose Rizal University.
If the Knights win, they secure the top seed and face Beda while the Blazers battle with Lyceum.
Should they lose, the Knights will slip to two and face LPU while the Blazers face San Beda anew. Either way, both the Knights and the Blazers will have twice-to-beat leverages.
“We’ll value this advantage. We will not take whoever we’ll face in the playoffs easily. Tomorrow right away, we’ll go back to work,” Will Gozum said after finishing with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Mark Sangco had his best game of the season so far for CSB with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Miggy Corteza and Jimboy Pasturan also had 15 and 13 points, respectively, in the win.
James Kwekuteye tallied 18 markers while JB Bahio also snagged a double-double with 18 markers and 13 boards. Gab Cometa also registered 12 in a losing effort.
The Scores:
CSB 82 — Sangco 19, Gozum 15, Corteza 15, Pasturan 13, Oczon 9, Carlos 5, Cullar 2, Nayve 2, Lepalam 2, Marcos 0, Davis 0.
SAN BEDA 73 — Bahio 18, Kwekuteye 18, Cometa 12, Andrada 6, Cortez 6, Ynot 4, Alfaro 4, Cuntapay 3, Sanchez 2, Visser 0.
Quarters: 26-26, 42-51, 63-60, 82-73.