COLLEGE of St. Benilde spoiled the return of Jose Rizal University coach Louie Gonzalez with an 80-65 blowout win to retain the top spot in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Ian Torres clicked from the outside and Allen Liwag pounded his way inside to complete the Blazers' rout that hiked their record to 10-2 overall.
Torres shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and top-scored with 16 points, while leading MVP candidate Allen Liwag had another double-double for coach Charles Tiu with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Benilde held the Heavy Bombers to just seven points in the third period to put the game away for good, as they led by as many as 73-40 in the final quarter.
“Magandang preparation para sa amin ito. Yung JRU, sila yung team na hindi basta-basta susuko tsaka very physical sila,” said Liwag of their opponents, while looking forward to a crucial schedule down the road that will see the Blazers taking on fellow Final Four contenders Mapua, San Beda, Letran, and Lyceum.
The loss was the ninth in 12 outings for the Heavy Bombers who welcomed back their shot-caller from a one-game suspension, only to fall victim to a 15-point rout that further trimmed their chances of reaching the Final Four.
Joshua Guiab led JRU with 17 points, as Shawn Argente and Marvin Raymundo had 14 and 13, respectively, for the team which absorbed its third straight loss in the second round.
The scores:
BENILDE 80 - Torres 16, Liwag 12, Sanchez 10, Ancheta 9, Eusebio 9, Oli 6, Cajucom 5, Cometa 4, Ondoa 4, Serrano 2, Turco 2, Morales 1, Sangco 0, Jarque 0, Galas 0.
JRU 65 - Guiab 17, Argente 14, Raymundo 13, Pangilinan 8, De Leon 4, Bernardo 4, Mosqueda 3, Lozano 2, Samontanes 0, Panapanaan 0, Sarmiento 0, Ferrer 0.
Quarters: 21-16; 42-33; 68-40; 80-65.
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