IT HAS been a recurring theme for St. Benilde each time it faces Mapua in the playoffs.
After the Blazers' 73-58 blowout loss to the Cardinals in the NCAA Season 101 quarterfinals, even St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu wouldn't shy away from stating the obvious.
“Pag Mapua, parang takot yung mga boys,” Tiu lamented. “Larong takot, parang mga duwag kami today.”
READ: Mapua continues playoff mastery over CSB to force do-or-die clash
It’s not just a bad night. It’s a recurring ghost.
This is the same Mapua team that swept Benilde in last year’s championship clash and the youthful mentor admitted that the Cardinals simply had their way around them in this meeting.
“That wasn’t our game. We kept throwing the ball away. I mean, exactly everything we talked about what not to do, how Mapua beat us, happened,” he said.
“They got into our heads, the guys got frustrated, couldn’t keep their composure.
We didn’t do well against their zone, and at the end of the day, we had a lot of open shots. Couldn’t hit open shots, couldn’t make free throws, and Mapua made theirs and that was the story.”
Including this game, Benilde has gone 0–4 against Mapua in the playoffs since Season 99.
Tiu has been adamant in stating that Mapua can't be judged with how it performed in the the classification phase, noting how the defending champions always had the ability to take things to another level.
That's exactly what happened on Wednesday.
“I felt the whole season, they were just taking it easy,” he said. “When they wanna turn it on, it’s a different story.”
If St. Benilde wants to stay alive, then the adjustments will certainly go beyond tactics and gameplanning.
Now it's all about character. Courage. Grit.
The shot-caller made it clear what he needs to see from his squad - discipline from his big men, poise under pressure, and a collective toughness that has been missing every time Mapua is on the other side of the court.
“We didn’t play well, we didn’t play smart, and we played scared,” Tiu said.
“If we play like this, we’re never gonna win anything. We have to wake up, regroup, and be tougher the next game.”
Everything now comes down to Friday - another elimination game against the same rival, another chance for the Blazers to prove they’re not the team that folds when the going gets tough in the playoffs.
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