The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers clinched a last-second victory against the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) Golden Stags, 96-94, to remain atop the standings in #NCAA100, today, Oct. 1, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Gab Cometa quickly started the scoring run for the Blazers as he unleashed the initial point with a mid-range shot, opening the game in favor of the Blazers. The Recto squad, led by Raymart Escobido, did not take the early hunting from the Taft squad lightly as they kept charging with counterattacks. However, the Blazers took the momentum against the Stags in the first quarter, 31-20.
The Blazers’ second quarter unit, led by Tony Ynot, Allen Liwag, and Justine Sanchez, leveraged their towering advantage against the Golden Stags, securing the quarter in favor of the Blazers, 58-37. The third canto saw the Blazers relentlessly hunt the Stags on both sides of the court, displaying the game’s biggest lead at 67-41. Reggz Gabat and Paeng Are stepped up in the Stags’ time of need, despite being overpowered by the Blazers, 78-61.
The game’s tale quickly switched sides in the last quarter as the Recto squad launched an all-out offense led by Gabat and Are. The comfortable gap between the Blazers and the Stags was reduced to a deadlock forcing an overtime, favoring the comeback run of the Golden Stags, 87-87.
Stags’ TJ Felebrico and Escobido sent consecutive points through the Blazers’ defenses, smashing the previous 26-point gap of the Blazers. Jhomel Ancheta came in clutch with a timely layup as he secured the victory with theee seconds left on the game clock, 96-94.
Ynot was hailed player of the game with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal.
The Blazers are still on top of the team standings with a 6-1 win-loss record and will face the Arellano University (AU) Chiefs on Oct. 4 at the same venue with a live telecast on the Heart of Asia and the NCAA Philippines Facebook and YouTube pages.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (96): Ynot 23, Liwag 17, Sanchez 8, Torres 8, Eusebio 7, Turco 6, Morales 6, Ancheta 5, Cometa 4, Ondoa 4, Cajucom 3, Jarque 3, Sangco 2
SSC-R (94): Escobido 29, Are 20, R. Gabat 12, Felebrico 9, Aguilar 9, L. Gabat 4, Ricio 3, Barroga 2, Velasco 2, Suico 2, Lintol 2
