CSB’s Robi Nayve lays it up against Letran’s Kobe Monje.-NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—In a rematch of last year’s finals, College of St. Benilde dominated Letran, 68-55, in the NCAA Season 99 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at San Juan Arena.
Migs Oczon, who scored a team-high 15 points with six assists and six rebounds, said that the Blazers already knew what they needed to do with the task at hand after falling short in last year’s championship.
“It’s a given that the motivation was there, given that we lost to them in the finals and coach (Charles Tiu) didn’t emphasize anything and just reminded us that we know what happened last year. Each and everyone understood what we needed to do and thankfully, we got the win today,” said Oczon.
In what should’ve been celebrated as sweet revenge, the victory turned out to be just another business day for the Blazers.
This, after Oczon bared that they’d take any win at this point of the season after a slow start in the first half of the eliminations.
“At this point, a win is a win. It’s still the eliminations. At the end of the day, we want to be champions, that’s our main goal this season and that’s where we’re focused.”
Miguel Corteza finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards while Robi Nayve scored 12 in the victory that put the Blazers at 5-4.
The Knights, meanwhile, crashed to 1-8 with Deo Cuajao being the sole double-digit scorer with 11 points.
San Beda’s Jacob Cortez runs off to the races against EAC.-NCAA Photo
Earlier, San Beda cruised to its fourth straight win with an 86-72 drubbing of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Jacob Cortez led the cavalry with 17 points and 3 assists on an efficient 50 percent field goal shooting clip to power the Red Lions to a 7-2 record. Yukien Andrada scored 14 while Jomel Puno registered a double-double with 11 markers and 11 boards.
Ralph Robin paced the Generals with 22 points built on six buckets from beyond the arc but EAC still dropped to 5-4 for the season.
The second round begins on Tuesday at the same venue. Jose Rizal University and Lyceum, which both hold identical records at 6-3, clash in the first game, to be followed by a match between EAC and San Sebastian (3-6).