COLLEGE of St. Benilde got a major boost in its campaign in NCAA Season 94 as it held off Arellano University, 70-62, on Friday at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Blazers got a strong performance from Justin Gutang and veteran forward Edward Dixon to continuously fend off the Chiefs.
Dixon's layup with one minute and 41 seconds left in the game shut the door for good on the Chiefs as they took a 68-62 lead with 1:41 to go.
With this victory, the Blazers boosted their chase in the top four as they improved to 5-3 after their loss to San Sebastian got overturned.
"I think this is our biggest win so far because it will give us an advantage in the rankings. Coming out of the dugout, I told them to give their best in this game," said Ty Tang as they played without suspended foreign reinforcement Clement Leutcheu.
"The boys really played well. We held Arellano down to just belot fifty percent from the field even without Clement," he added.
Gutang led the Blazers with 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists while Prince Carlos came off the bench to finish with 11 points.
Kendrix Belgica stepped up in the absence of Leutcheu with eight points and seven boards.
However, it was their defense as a unit which proved to be critical as they held the Chiefs to a shade below 30 percent from the field while holding Levi dela Cruz scoreless.
Rence Alcoriza led the Chiefs with 14 points as they fell to 3-4.
The scores:
CSB 70 – Gutang 15, Carlos 11, Haruna 9, Belgica 8, Domingo 8, Dixon 6, Naboa 6, Young 5, Pasturan 2, Barnes 0, Nayve 0, Velasco 0
ARELLANO 62 – Alcoriza 14, Sera Josef 11, Villoria 9, Canete 9, Alban 6, Segura 3, Codinera 3, Concepcion 2, Ongolo Ongolo 2, Santos 2, Sacramento 1, Dela Cruz 0, Bayla 0, Dela Torre 0
QUARTERS: 16-11, 32-27, 51-46, 70-62
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