Navarro catches fire late as San Sebastian forces three-way tie for 4th

Renzo Navarro. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Renzo Navarro waxed hot in the fourth quarter as he led San Sebastian to a 73-61 win over St. Benilde Thursday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The diminutive playmaker went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc to finish with 16 points, 12 of which coming in the payoff period to help the Golden Stags hold off the Blazers.

Michael Calisaan chipped in a double-double with 11 markers and 11 rebounds, while Ryan Costelo got 10 for San Sebastian, as it kept itself in the Final Four race with its 6-6 record and forcing a three-way logjam at fourth place with Letran and EAC.

“I guess the boys really want to be here. Hopefully, everybody will step up so that we won’t have a difficult time getting to the Final Four,” said coach Egay Macaraya.

The Golden Stags had a hard time pulling away against the Blazers before Navarro drilled back-to-back triples in the payoff period to grab a 70-52 lead with 3:34 remaining.

Clement Leutcheu paced St. Benilde with 15 points and nine rebounds against eight turnovers, while Unique Naboa also had 15 markers and three boards.

The Blazers have now lost six of their last seven games to drop to 3-10.

The Scores:

SAN SEBASTIAN 73 – Navarro 16, Calisaan 11, Costelo 10, Bulanadi 8, Valdez 8, Baetiong 7, David 5, Ilagan 3, Calma 2, Mercado 2, Gayosa 1, Baytan 0, Capobres 0, Quipse 0.

ST. BENILDE 61 – Leutcheu 15, Naboa 15, Castor 7, Belgica 5, Domingo 5, San Juan 4, Young 4, Johnson 3, Mercado 2, Dixon 1, Pili 0, Sta. Maria 0.

Quarters: 13-10, 30-20, 51-42, 73-61.