Carlo Lastimosa poured 10 of his 14 points in the final quarter to power St. Benilde past Lyceum, 70-61, last night in the 88th NCAA basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Aggressive on both ends in the final period, Lastimosa almost single-handedly rallied the Blazers from a six-point deficit, putting the Pirates to the sword with a string of daring drives to the basket.
Flashing another facet of his game, Lastimosa—the Rookie of the Year two seasons ago—got his teammates involved early on as he finished with six assists that also went with six rebounds.
But when the Blazers needed him to take over offensively, the guard from Cagayan de Oro delivered, shooting eight straight points in a 14-0 run that lifted St. Benilde to a 61-57 lead.
“I had to be aggressive in the fourth period because we were behind,” said Lastimosa.
St. Benilde coach Richard del Rosario marveled at the way his guard turned the game around: “He is showing some maturity in his game.”
The Pirates threatened to break the game wide open in the third period, before Lastimosa was recalled from the bench.
Debuting Emilio Aguinaldo College edged Arellano University, 75-72, in the second seniors game. Arellano absorbed its second straight loss.
Meanwhile, La Salle-Green Hills St. Benilde, with 11 players scoring at least five points, crushed Lyceum, 122-41, in juniors’ play, while Arellano bounced back with a 104-49 drubbing of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
The senior scores
Third Game
ST. BENILDE 70—Lastimosa 14, Taha 11, Sinco 10, Romero 9, Tan 8, Grey 8, Tolentino 6, Ongteco 4, Bartolo 0, Deles 0, Maconocido 0, Garcia 0, Altamirano 0.
LYCEUM 61—Cayabyab 13, Ko 11, Guevarra 8, Azores 8, Laude 6, Zamora 5. Francisco 4, Ambohot 4, Mendoza 2, Martinez 0, Garcia 0 Mallari 0.
Quarters: 12-12, 33-31, 49-53, 70-61