DEFENSE did it for St. Benilde as it claimed its second straight win in the NCAA Season 97 seniors basketball tournament with a 76-71 escape from Arellano on Saturday at La Salle Greenhills.
Robi Nayve drained the go-ahead three with 55.0 seconds left before JC Cullar secured the big steal from Kobe Caballero that led to Jethro Publico sealing the triumph with a layup in the last 7.9 ticks to push the Blazers up to a 2-1 card.
"It's surprising, but I'm happy with the results," said coach Charles Tiu.
Nayve shot 4-of-6 from distance, finishing with 19 points and three rebounds to spearhead St. Benilde to the victory.
Will Gozum also had his best game to date with a double-double of 17 points and 15 boards, while Miggy Corteza got 10 points and four rebounds.
Justin Arana plays through injury
Justin Arana showed much courage and still played despite his sprained ACL, nabbing 14 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists as Arellano suffered its second loss in three games.
Caballero paced the Chiefs with 15 points and five rebounds, but committed the costliest of his six turnovers late as they missed their chance to possibly force overtime with the Blazers only holding a three-point lead, 74-71, on the last 19.7 seconds and instead, led to Publico's late basket.
The scores:
St. Benilde 76 - Nayve 19, Gozum 17, Corteza 10, Marcos 7, Benson 6, Publico 6, Carlos 5, Cullar 2, Lepalam 2, Flores 1, Davis 1, Tateishi 0, Sangco 0, Mosqueda 0, Lim 0.
Arellano 71 - Caballero 15, Arana 14, Doromal 12, Sablan 10, Steinl 9, Abastillas 4, Sta. Ana 3, Valencia 2, Oliva 2, Cruz 0, Talampas 0, Concepcion 0, Carandang 0.
Quarterscores: 14-11; 36-29; 58-54; 74-71.
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