ALLEN Liwag repeated over his former team, as College of St. Benilde downed Emilio Aguinaldo College, 69-65, to earn a playoff for a Final Four berth in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.
The 6-foot-5 Liwag completed a three-point play to finally break an all even 62-62 contest, before the returning Tony Ynot scored off transition to give the Blazers a five-point spread entering the final two minutes of the Sunday game at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Liwag finished with a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds to lead Benilde in notching its 11th win in 13 outings to stay on top of the perch.
The leading contender for the Season MVP plum also made it 2-0 against his former team, as the Blazers also routed the Generals in the first round, 77-55.
“Motivated ako ng doble-doble kasi excited akong makalaro yung mga dati kong teammates,” said Liwag, who played for EAC for two seasons before taking his act to Taft Avenue.
“Pero natutuwa naman ako sa improvement nila kasi ang layo na nila dun sa dati. Nakakatuwa lang na makalaro ko ulit sila sa loob ng court.”
The green-and-white is currently on a roll, winning its fifth straight outing just as the 6-foot-1 Ynot came back from a foot injury.
The former San Beda guard missed three games of the team owing to a severe ankle sprain, which clearly didn't an effect in his comeback, as he finished with 14 points coming off the bench.
The Generals fell to a 6-7 record and failed to tie Letran (7-7) in the heated race for the No. 4 spot.
Harvey Pagsanjan finished with a game-high 16 points, while Nico Quinal added 12, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, the last of which put EAC within 67-65.
But split free throws by Ynot and Gab Cometa doomed the last second comeback of the Generals.
The scores:
BENILDE 69 - Liwag 15, Ynot 14, Torres 9, Cometa 7, Eusebio 6, Sangco 5, Ondoa 4, Sanchez 3, Oli 3, Cajucom 3, Morales 0, Ancheta 0, Turco 0, Serrano 0.
EAC 65 - Pagsanjan 16, Quinal 12, Gurtiza 10, Lucero 5, Doromal 5, Loristo 4, Bacud 4, Ochavo 3, Oftana 3, Bagay 3, Angeles 0, Luciano 0, Ednilag 0, Umpad 0.
Quarters: 13-20; 34-34; 49-44; 69-65.
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