ST. Benilde had to gut it out and ride the hot hands of Justine Sanchez to pull off the 81-79 overtime victory vs. Perpetual to win back-to-back games in the NCAA Season 102 seniors basketball tournament on Thursday at Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The team captain waxed hot from deep, drilling seven treys, none bigger than his go-ahead three with 2:07 to play, as he finished with a collegiate career-high 27 points and seven rebounds.
"Araw-araw ko siyang tinatrabaho. Sobrang sarap sa feeling na ganun yung resulta ng game ngayon," said Sanchez, who missed just once from threes and had almost half of the Blazers' 15 triples.
Yet the Taft side needed more than that, standing their ground in the clutch and surviving two tries from LA Casinillo in the waning seconds just to come out on top.
"Tough game. We got a bit fortunate in the end, but we need these games and we need to know how to play these games," said coach Paolo Layug.
Benilde belief
Jhomel Ancheta actually had a chance to win the game outright after getting fouled by Allen Maglupay while shooting a triple, but went 2-of-3 from the free throw line with 1.6 seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 74 and force the extra five minutes.
He ended up with 17 points and eight assists, including three triples in the fourth period that helped his side rally back from a 66-58 deficit.
CSB's first win streak of the season allowed it to climb up to 4-1 in the standings.
The Altas, on the other hand, slipped to two straight losses to fall down to 1-4.
Mark Gojo Cruz paced them with 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, as Casinillo got 12 points and eight boards in the defeat.
The Scores:
BENILDE 81 - Sanchez 27, Ancheta 17, Jarque 9, Moore 9, Morales 7, Cajucom 5, Torres 3, Podador 2, Go 2, Lorenzo 0, Arciaga 0.
PERPETUAL 79 - Gojo Cruz 15, Casinillo 12, Duremdes 11, Gelsano 9, Tulabut 9, Orgo 7, Corpuz 6, Maglupay 6, Borja 4, Roluna 0.
Quarters: 13-12, 35-36, 58-62, 74-74, 81-79.
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