College of St. Benilde’s Gab Cometa prepares to shoot during a game against Arellano in NCAA Season 100.–NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Gab Cometa prefers to enter the battlefield coming off the bench.
The shifty Cebuano guard fired a career-high 23 points on Wednesday, leading a vindictive College of St. Benilde Blazers side to a 100-77 demolition of the Arellano Chiefs on Wednesday at the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.
“I’m comfortable off the bench. That way, I could assess what’s happening on the court and the things that I need to contribute once I get inside,” said Cometa in Filipino after the Blazers fortified their hold of the lead with another win.
READ: NCAA: Benilde beats Baste, Letran rookie out of awards race
The Blazers exacted sweet revenge on the Chiefs, who tormented them in the first round due to committing an avalanche of 24 turnovers.
This time around, the Blazers made sure to take care of the leather, limiting their miscues down to 11.
“It’s been something we’ve talked about since that loss. We just needed to take better care of the basketball,” said CSB coach Charles Tiu. “We haven’t been too smart with it.”
They bumped their record up with a ninth victory in 11 outings, a full game ahead of the Mapua Cardinals (8-3).
So efficient was Cometa on the floor that he was able to bore holes in the Arellano defense and went 10 of 14 from the field while starters Justine Sanchez added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Allen Liwag contributed 12 points.
READ: NCAA: Arellano stuns Benilde, JRU beats EAC
“I know I have to be a leader on the court. My teammates treat me as such, so I took on that role,” said Cometa, who scored 17 points in the first half as the Blazers built an 18-point advantage early in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Chief plummeted to their eighth defeat with the same number of matches as the Blazers with Troy Valencia pouring 25 points and Jeadan Ongotan piecing together 15 points.
“Today, we made some adjustments. I’ve been stressing those turnovers for weeks now,” said Tiu.
The Blazers, who avenged their 73-71 defeat against the Chiefs, distributed the leather efficiently with 22 assists and crashed the boards with 60 rebounds, 22 of them offensive possessions.
The scores
ST. BENILDE 100 – Cometa 23, Sanchez 14, Liwag 12, Ancheta 8, Torres 8, Turco 6, Ondoa 6, Oli 5, Morales 4, Carillo 4, Eusebio 3, Sangco 3, Cajucom 2, Jarque 2, Arciaga 0
ARELLANO 77 – Valencia 25, Ongotan 15, Geronimo 10, Capulong 8, Vinoya 7, Flores 6, Borromeo 2, Miller 2, Camay 2, Espiritu 0, Acop 0, De Leon 0, Libang 0, Abiera 0
Quarter scores: 26-12, 54-36, 76-49, 100-77