The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers defeated the Arellano University (AU) Chiefs, 72-66, for their fourth win in the #NCAASeason99 thanks to a bounce-back third quarter response, on Oct. 15, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The first 12 minutes of action had nothing too much to offer as both teams played steadily. Will Gozum kicked things off with a mid-range jumper for a 2-0 start. However, that would be the only bucket for the Benilde forward the whole game. After a layin by Paul Turco and a three-pointer by Miguel Oczon, a timeout was called with 5:40 left as the Blazers held a minor two-point lead, 7-5. Towards the end of the quarter, the Blazers picked up the pace a little bit and finished with a 16-12 lead.
The second quarter saw an offensive outburst by the Chiefs. Even though the period started with a good nine-point cushion by the green shirts thanks to their nice ball movement, Troy Valencia and the Chiefs would floor the gas pedal and conduct an astounding 20-0 run, leaving the Benilde crowd speechless. After some early free throw bonus attempts got the Blazers to 26-16, that lead would flash right before their eyes as aggressive moves by Valencia, strong layins by Lorenz Capulong, and hot shooting by Jade Talampas would lift Arellano to now a 26-36 score heading to the half. The Blazers were not able to take care of the ball, which led to easy shots that added to the momentum of the Chiefs.
The third quarter was all about the Blazers having a chip on their shoulder. The first couple of minutes of the second half was a back-and-forth affair, as the Blazers could not quite take advantage of the Chiefs’ misses. That is until, however, when Prince Carlos finally took charge and brought the Taft squad closer as he made layups after layups to cut the lead to single digits. While Mark Sangco, Jericho Jalalon, and Oczon were adding to the scoreboard, Jesse Arciaga was an instant impact for Benilde as his great defense prevented the Chiefs from answering and his timely effort on the floor was the reason they reclaimed the lead. After Robi Nayve dished Sangco for an easy two, he ended the quarter with a drive for a layup to put the Blazers back on top, 51-47.
The final frame of the game saw little-to-no scoring to start the first two minutes. That dead air though was halted by Jeadan Ongatan who swished back-to-back threes, giving the blue shirts a 51-55 advantage. Even though the Blazers were fighting to regain the lead, the Chiefs were not letting it go. That is, until, when the backcourt trio of Carlos, Nayve, and Oczon became a headache for the Chiefs. After three free throws by Carlos and a strong penetration to the hoop by Nayve, things evened up at 61-61, forcing the Chiefs to call timeout with 3:46 left. After the intermission, a Sangco one-hander overtakes the Chiefs to break the deadlock, Carlos and Oczon stacked on to it with buckets of their own. Despite minor errors done, the Blazers held on to win, 72-66.
Even though Oczon silently led all Blazers in scoring with 16, it was Carlos who held it down for them as his 15 points on 57.1% shooting, five rebounds and seven assists were the wake up call for the Blazers to come back. It was an off-night for Gozum and Corteza, but it was leveled out by Sangco’s 12 points and eight rebounds, and Arciaga’s game-high +20 in the plus/minus department, despite non-glaring box score stats.
Appreciating Arciaga
“We wouldn’t have won this game without him,” Coach Charles Tiu praised Arciaga in an exclusive interview with The Benildean.
Coach Tiu stated that Arciaga’s work ethic and readiness to play was the reason he became “crucial” to the Blazers third quarter rally. He also described Sangco, who made clutch plays down the stretch, as one of his “smart players,” despite his struggles on defense and his jumpshot.
Catch the Blazers fight for the higher seed with the EAC Generals on Oct. 20. The game will be available to watch live on NCAA Philippines’ Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (72) - Oczon 16, Carlos 15, Sangco 12, Nayve 11, Turco 4, Jalalon 4, Arciaga 3, Gozum 2, Morales 2, Mara 2, Corteza 1, Marcos 0, Lepalam 0, Jarque 0
AU (66) - Valencia 19, Orangutan 13, Capulong 12, Talampas 8, Sunga 7, Villarente 3, Dayrit 2, Mallari 2, Geronimo 0, Abastillas 0, Yanes 0
