The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers stumbled against the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Knights, 67-81, to conclude their historic #NCAASeason98 today, Dec.18, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
It was a close battle early in the first period. Team captain JC Cullar scored the first basket for the Blazers while opposing big man Louie Sangalang opened the scoring for the Knights. Letran would pull away from the game after consecutive trips from the line. However, Miguel Oczon and Macoy Marcos were quick to answer the call after hitting a long bomb and converting a tough finish to the basket to create a slight cushion, 17-13. However, Letran’s King Caralipio and Kobe Monje stood tall to give the Knights the lead to end the period, 21-24.
It was an offensive drought for both teams early in the second period; the first basket would come from the line after a Monje make. The Knights added to their lead after consecutive long bombs from Kurt Reyson and Brent Paraiso. The Blazers couldn’t find themselves out of the slump, allowing Letran to grow their lead to 17, 26-43. The Knights continued to pull away from the Blazers after conversions from Monje and Caralipio. The period ended with Letran up by 18, 33-51.
In the third canto, the Blazers came out blazing after an early five-to-nothing run, spearheaded by a Mark Sangco three, 38-51. The Blazers would continue to put the ball through the hoop cutting the Letran lead to twelve, 42-54. However, Paraiso gave Letran more cushion after consecutive makes in the paint. The Taft squad continued to push forward with back-to-back threes from Jimboy Pasturan and Oczon. Despite the efforts, Letran continued to connect in all aspects to balloon the lead. The period ended with the Blazers down by sixteen, 54-70.
In the payoff period, the Blazers were determined to keep things close; however, Letran displayed championship poise and continued to dominate the Taft squad offensively. Midway through the period, the green and white’s defense couldn’t contain the Letran offense allowing them to add up to their lead, 62-77. The Blazers would go on one last push headed by league MVP Will Gozum and Oczon, 66-77. Despite the efforts, the Knights’ lead was too much for the Blazers. The ball game concluded with Letran up by fourteen, 67-81.
The Blazers surrendered to the Letran Knights as they ended their historic season as first runners-up.
Miguel Corteza led the Blazers by dropping 14 points and seven rebounds. Gozum and Pasturan are the other Blazers who scored in double figures, dropping ten points each.
What’s Next?
In an interview with The Benildean, coach Charles Tiu mentioned, “I am just excited to rest and spend time with my family, however it is sad to see JC and Jimboy go, JC is the leader of the team, he sets the tone and the culture of the team which you guys don’t see, while Jimboy is another veteran guard, he can score and he is a great player as well, we are short on the guard spot next year so all the other guys will need to step up come next season.” When asked about what’s next for Gozum, coach Tiu mentioned, “We still have to decide what’s best for him, if he has an opportunity to play somewhere better then i’ll be the first to encourage him to go, after all we want to help our guys, we want to give our guys the best opportunity for their careers.”
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (67): Corteza 14, Gozum 10, Pasturan 10, Oczon 9, Nayve 6, Sangco 6, Flores 5, Marcos 3, Carlos 2, Cullar 2, Davis 0
CSJL (81): Caralipio 20, Paraiso 16, Monje 11, Reyson 8, Sangalang 8, Santos 7, Olivario 4, Go 4, Guarinio 2, Javillonar 1, Bojorcelo 0, Tolentino 0
Quarter Scores: 21-24, 33-51, 54-70, 67-81
