10 October 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – San Beda University used a third quarter push to survive gritty College of St. Benilde, 95-73, on Thursday in the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
With the win, the Red Lions extended their winning streak to 17-0 slate and they are only a win away from sweeping the elimination round and an automatic place in the Finals with a twice-to-beat advantage.
San Beda had a hard time shrugging off the Blazers at the first half as CSB outscored them 22-14, for a slim 42-41 advantage. “Simple lang ang sinabi ko sa players during halftime – mahiya naman sila sa sarili nila,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez post-game.
The Red Lions took their coach’s words into the court and went on to pounce the Blazers with a big 31 points in the third quarter to take full control of the match, 72-58. This is all thanks to big buckets from Calvin Oftana who unleashed 13 of his 29 points, and Peter Alfaro with all of his nine points.
Benilde struggled to score in the payoff period as San Beda only stretched their lead to 22 points and cruised to victory as time ran out.
Oftana also had nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals in his name, while James Canlas added 21 points, nine boards and seven assists in the win.
On the other hand, CSB is on the brink of elimination as they dropped to a 7-9 win-loss record despite Justin Gutang’s 23-point output.
The Scores:
SAN BEDA 95 – Oftana 29, Canlas 21, Tankoua 13, Soberano 10, Nelle 9, Alfaro 9, Doliguez 2, Cuntapay 2, Bahio 0, Abuda 0, Obenza 0, Carino 0, Noah 0, Etrata 0
CSB 73 – Gutang 23, Young 7, Carlos 7, Dixon 7, Belgica 6, Haruna 6, Flores 6, Sangco 5, Nayve 3, Mosqueda 3, Naboa 0, Lim 0
QUARTER SCORES: 27-20, 41-42, 72-58, 95-73
Follow the writer on Twitter: @meanxi
