As the 94th season of the NCAA tournament officially opened last week, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers failed to jumpstart their basketball campaign with a win, bowing to the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Stags, 78-85, earlier today at the FilOil Flying V Centre, San Juan.

The Blazers entered the game strong with Edward Dixon and Yankie Haruna spearheading the attack for the boys in green and white after scoring 10 points and 12 points respectively, while Benildeans James Pasturan and Unique Naboa handled the playmaking duties with four assists each. The first quarter ended with a buzzer-beating layup by Jj Domingo, putting the Blazers up by three, 27-24.

     

In the second quarter, the SSC-R Stags came out with a vengeance as they quickly scored five points at the start of the quarter to take the lead by two. The Stags, with the help of a series of runs, ended the quarter with a deadlock of 44-44.

      

After the halftime break, the Taft squad’s offensive lapses caused them four points, which the Stags capitalized for an early lead in the third quarter. The Blazers regained their composure with baskets from young guns Haruna, Ray Carlos, and Justin Gutang to give the team a one-point advantage as they head into the final quarter of the game, 64-63.

       

Entering the final quarter, it was still anybody’s game as both teams fought tooth and nail, registering a total of 12 deadlocks at the end of game. While the Blazers trailed by only two points, 72-74, with 5:35 remaining in the game, the efforts of Haruna, Gutang, and veteran Clement Leutcheu, were not enough to overcome SSC-R, eventually bowing to the Stags, 78-85.

With a win-loss record of 0-1, the Blazers will face the Mapua University Cardinals on July 20 at the FilOil Flying V Centre, San Juan.

Quarter scores:

(27-24, 44-44, 64-63, 78-85)

Photos by Kyle Bustos