ST. Benilde is finally on board.
Playing true to their preseason projections, the Blazers bounced back from an opening day stumble with a 74-63 win over the EAC Generals on Saturday at the Playtime Filoil Center in San Juan and improve to 1-1 in Group B.
Justine Sanchez was once again on the forefront of Benilde's attack - sparking a third quarter rally which turned a fairly close game into a blowout win against a determined Generals side.
"We lost to San Beda, we didn't play well at all. I thought the guys probably thought they were so good, obviously give credit to San Beda they are really a great team and I keep telling them we have to play our A-Game which we didn't [against San Beda]," CSB head coach Charles Tiu said.
"So we have to make sure that even with a day preparation, we wanted to be angry that we lost. Every time our school loses, I feel like I let the school down, I let everybody down and that should be our mindset," he added.
"I'm happy that the guys had that intensity. They were a bit more focused today, medyo kulang pa but at least we came away with the win."
Blazers show teeth
With the game nip-and-tuck up until midway through the third quarter, Sanchez conspired with Allen Liwag as the Blazers started to break the game wide open, at one point taking a 19 point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
It was a lead they never relinquished as Gab Cometa and Ian Torres joined the fray to lead the Blazers to a comfortable victory over the grizzled Generals.
Sanchez led the way for the Blazers with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown off the bench while Liwag added 14 points, seven boards and three blocks in another strong performance for the reigning MVP.
No other Blazer breached double-digits but it wasn't for a lack of production as the scoring was spread across the players fielded in by Tiu.
Cometa scored all of his nine points in the second half breakaway, while Torres added seven points, six boards, four assists and a steal.
Jude Bagay paced the Generals with 15 points and seven rebounds while Wilmar Oftana added 10 but unfortunately, the Generals couldn't sustain their hot start.
The scores:
BENILDE 74 - Sanchez 16, Liwag 14, Cometa 9, Torres 7, Umali 6, Moore 6, Celis 5, Ancheta 4, Gaspay 2, Morales 2, Cajucom 2, Eusebio 1, Oli 0, Daja 0, Galas 0
EAC 63 - Bagay 15, Oftana 10, Castillo 8, Angeles 8, Loristo 6, Ochavo 4, Postanes 4, Shanoda 3, Villarente 3, Lucero 2, Tolentino 0, Dominguez 0, Omandac 0, Quinal 0, Bacud 0
Quarters: 22-17, 37-32, 57-46, 74-63
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