By Kevin Estrada
Winston Ynot came back with a bang as St. Benilde edged EAC, 69-65, in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the FilOil-EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Blazers survived a close encounter against the Generals to win their fifth straight game and remained on top of the standings with an 11-2 record.
After missing their last three games due to an ankle injury, Ynot came off the bench and scored 14 points on his return.
Center Allen Liwag did well against his former school, notching a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. His three-point play was the go-ahead bucket for the Blazers, breaking the 62-all deadlock with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter.
Ynot lauded Benilde’s endgame composure, which recovered them from a slow start after they trailed by as much as 12 (8-20) early in the first period.
“Sabi ko lang naman sa teammates ko: Sipag lang, kaya naman natin ito,” he remarked.
Later, CSB head coach Charles Tiu praised their improved ball handling. They committed only 13 turnovers, a far cry from their average of 16.8 per contest.
“Thirteen is still high for me. At least bumababa na sa mga 20 [turnovers] namin,” he said. “We struggled against their [EAC’s] zone a bit, but we found our ways in the end to adjust and found a way to win.”
Despite Harvey Pagsanjan’s 16-point production, the Generals fell to a share of fifth alongside host school Lyceum with a 6-7 record.
The scores:
ST. 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
Quarter scores: 13-20, 34-34, 49-44, 69-65
