NCAA: San Beda escapes Letran, St. Benilde avoids meltdown

San Beda Red Lions Jomel Puno against Letran defenders during the clash of the rivals in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA/GMA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–San Beda escaped rival Letran, 66-65, on Tuesday to grab a share of the fourth seed in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.

Jomel Puno powered the Red Lions past the Knights with a career-best 22 points along with 10 rebounds.

READ: NCAA: San Beda returns to win column, star rookie lifts Perpetual

The victory allowed San Beda to gain a mark within the top four with a 4-3 mark, tied with Perpetual Help, while closing in half a game behind Letran, which dropped to third at 5-3.

Kevin Santos paced the Knights in a losing effort with 18 points along with nine rebounds while Sherick Estrada added 16.

Benilde avoids meltdown

St. Benilde Blazers in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA/GMA PHOTO

Meanwhile, league leader St. Benilde avoided an upset and staved off Sebastian, 96-94, in overtime.

Carrying his team in OT, Tony Ynot finished with 23 points with eight rebounds and eight assists for the Blazers, who squandered a 26-point advantage.

READ: NCAA: Benilde bounces back, Mapua extends Stags’ losing streak

“I’m not happy at all. This is probably, maybe the worst in my life,” said a livid CSB coach Charles Tiu. “I don’t want to say anything because I’m mad, I’m really mad. That’s an embarrassment.”

The Blazers were up by 67-41 in the third quarter but gave the Stags ample space to make a comeback–led by Rafael Are and Raymart Escobido–and force overtime.

San Sebastian even had a taste of the lead, 94-92, with a little over a minute to play in OT before Justine Sanchez and Jhomel Ancheta scored clutch buckets to salvage the win for St. Benilde.

The Blazers kept their hold of the top spot at 6-1 while the Stags fell to 2-6.