Blazers remain undefeated with rout of Altas
St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu has made one thing clear to his players.
“We always tell them it’s not about you, you may have a bad game but I want the type of team that even if you struggle, you contribute in other ways,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Blazers heeded that call.
Allen Liwag struggled offensively but had nine rebounds and the rest of the team picked up the scoring cudgels in a 78-51 rout of Perpetual Help in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil EcoOil Arena.
St. Benilde notched its fourth straight victory and remained the only unbeaten squad in the centennial edition of the country’s oldest varsity league.
And while Tiu got the result he hoped for, he was quite surprised by how easy the team achieved it.
“I’m surprised we won by this much, to be honest,” he said. “Every game we expect to win, but I didn’t expect we would win this big and I’m very happy with the way we played.”
Justin Sanchez finished with 13 points while Tony Ynot added 12 and Gab Cometa chipped in 10 for the Blazers, who led, 69-40, at the end of the third and dropped the Altas to 2-2 (win-loss).
JRU scores
Meanwhile, Jose Rizal University snapped its three-game losing streak to notch its first win of the season at the expense of San Sebastian, 90-74.
Marvin Raymundo turned in a stellar game with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Mart Barrera flaunted added 18 points to give the Heavy Bombers a 1-3 card.
Rafael Are, who had a sensational start in the Golden Stags’ first couple of games, led San Sebastian once more with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists but to no avail as they dropped to a 2-2 slate. —WITH A REPORT FROM ROMMEL FUERTES JR. INQ
Controlling nature