The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers (DLS-CSB) dropped a 69-73 duel against the José Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers today, Sept. 22 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City, marking their first loss of the season.
Both teams led in a tightly contested opening frame, with the Blazers taking an early 6-2 advantage behind Mo Morales and Josh Cajucom. The Heavy Bombers quickly answered as Chris Hubilla tied the game at 6-all, continuing to take control through Jalen Garcia, Allan Laurenaria, Lawrence Mangubat, and Jhillian Palis to build a 9-16 lead. Benilde’s Irele Galas split his free throws before SJ Moore sparked a late Taft squad push, scoring six points to cut the deficit to one. Justine Sanchez then converted from the charity stripe to knot the game at 16-all heading into the second quarter.
The Kalentong Squad regained momentum in the second quarter as Mangubat opened the scoring and helped the Bombers build a 19-25 advantage. The Blazers responded through Ronjie Go and Jhommel Ancheta, but Sean Salvador continued to provide the offense for the Heavy Bombers. Though Ancheta and Sanchez kept Benilde within striking distance, Garcia sank two free throws to give JRU a 33-38 lead.
Coming out of the break, the Heavy Bombers ignited an 8-0 and stretched their lead by 16 points. Moore and Sanchez then answered back, spearheading the Blazers’ offense by trimming the deficit by half, ending the quarter at 50-58.
Hubilla further boosted JRU’s momentum in the final canto, but the men in green and white powered through an 8-0 run by penetrating the paint. Ancheta drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1 point, but Allan Laurenaria answered back with 2 shots from the line. Sanchez chipped in a putback and Ancheta fired a crucial jumper that gave Benilde a 1-point advantage at 66-65 with 2:10 left in the game. The Blazers fought valiantly, but the Heavy Bombers capitalized on free throws in the final minute, handing Benilde their first loss with a final score of 69-73.
The Blazers seek to regain their rhythm against the Mapúa University (MU) Cardinals on Sept. 25 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, with a live telecast on One Sports on YouTube, PilipinasLIVE on CignalPlay and NCAA NXT on Cignal TV.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (69) - Sanchez 20, Moore 18, Ancheta 18, Cajucom 6, Go 4, Morales 2, Galas 1, Torres 0, Podador 0, Daja 0, Gonzaga 0, Baliquig 0, Jarque 0, Arciaga 0.
JRU (73) - Mangubat 20, Hubilla 12, Garcia 11, Salvador 10, Eligado 7, Palis 6, Laurenaria 5, Herrera 2, Garupil 0, Penaverde 0, Masiglat 0, Agmenyi 0, Castillo 0.
Quarter Scores: 16-16, 33-38, 50-58, 69-73
