COACH Charles Tiu called out his team, College of St. Benilde, for its lack of toughness after a Game 1 loss to Mapua in the NCAA Season 101 quarterfinals.
His boys answered his call.
The Blazers stood their ground, pushed back and withstood a late Cardinals rally to take 74-72 win, on Friday at the Playtime Filoil Center, and formally eliminate the defending champions out of contention.
By ousting the champs, the Blazers booked a best-of-three semifinals clash with the San Beda Red Lions starting this Tuesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
"It's what we expected. We expected Mapua. They're the defending champs for a reason," St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu said.
"They didn't quit. That's why we wanted to challenge the guys to play our game. We played our game but we were a bit rattled down the stretch but still we found ways to win, we just had enough of a lead to escape."
Tony Ynot sparked a 16-4 run late in the second quarter allowing the Blazers to open a 47-29 lead.
Ynot drained back-to-back three pointers to kick off the run before Justine Sanchez and Ian Torres joined the fray and for a moment there, the Blazers look poised to cruise to a comfortable win.
But the Cardinals, slowly but surely, stormed back even with the continuous struggle of star guard Clint Escamis who shot 0-6 before being ejected with 9:05 remaining in the game.
Cy Cuenco drained three big treys in the fourth quarter, with his second three-pointer giving the Cardinals a 63-62 lead with 5:51 left in the game.
The Blazers, however, showed character, with Torres and Shawn Umali answering with a 10-1 run to take control of the game once more.
Still, Mapua wasn't about to roll over and die, responding with an 8-2 run to go to within two, 74-72, with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
They had the chance to send the game into overtime after forcing a travelling violation on Torres, but JC Recto missed two crucial free throws which would've saved their season
"When Mapua took the lead in the fourth, we didn't panic.," Tiu said.
"Ian Torres made some big plays for us and we got the stops that we needed. Some guys made some big shots, Shawn made some big shots and that was it. We dug deep and showed the quality of our team."
Raffy Celis came up big for Benilde, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists while Torres added 12 points.
Ynot added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists while Allen Liwag did a yeoman's job anchoring the paint with nine points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Recto led the way for Mapua with 18 points while Cuenco added 17.
Escamis, on the other hand, will be ending an otherwise illustrious collegiate career with three points on 0-6 shooting. He shot a combined 0-16 in the quarterfinals.
The scores:
ST. BENILDE 74 – Celis 18, Torres 12, Ynot 11, Liwag 9, Sanchez 6, Umali 5, Ancheta 5, Gaspay 4, Morales 2, Cajucom 2, Oli 0
MAPÚA 72 – Recto 18, Cuenco 17, Gonzales 11, Sapasap 7, Nitura 4, Concepcion 4, Delos Reyes 4, Lazarte 4, Escamis 3, Igliane 0, Abdulla 0, Reyes 0
Quarters: 24-17, 47-31, 60-53, 74-72
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