The De La-Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Blazers succumbed to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Knights’ growing momentum, falling behind early and struggling to close the deficit in a 72-83 defeat today, Oct 20, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The first quarter opened with both teams trading close-range baskets. The Blazers kickstarted their offense through Raffy Celis and Matthew Jucom, while Arle Podador and John Morales followed suit. The Knights responded through Denzil Walker and Nathaniel Montecillo, fueling a back-and-forth exchange. However, the Intramuros squad gradually pulled away as Justin Cargo and Kevin Santos scored consecutive buckets, capped by John Estrada’s two-point jump shot, to close the quarter, 13-24.
In the second canto, Jesseray Arciaga sparked the Blazers’ offense, but Chad Gammad answered with a three-pointer to extend Letran’s lead. Jhommel Ancheta tried to revive their rally with a three-pointer and a layup, but Aaron Buensalida kept responding to Benilde’s efforts to close the gap. The Taft squad then mounted a 6-0 run through a series of free throws to trim the deficit. Still, Letran’s offense, helmed by Buensalida, continued to keep Benilde at bay. Despite Jucom’s late efforts, the Blazers struggled to mount a comeback, trailing 35-48 at the end of the first half.
Coming off the halftime break, both squads struggled to find their offensive rhythm before Ancheta broke through with a finish at the rim for the men in green and white. However, Letran’s Santos answered with a basket, followed by Cargo’s three-pointer to stretch their lead to 17 points. Walker continued to drive the Knight’s offense, while Montecillo sank a shot from beyond the arc to close out the third canto, 48-67.
Justine Sanchez opened the payoff quarter with a triple, but the men in blue and red quickly regained their footing, with Santos throwing down a dunk to reinforce their lead. The Blazers continued to search for a way back into the game, with SJ Moore and Jio Gonzaga sparking a late offensive surge to reignite Taft’s hopes of a comeback. However, despite Nicolas Lorenzo’s efforts to keep Benilde in contention, the rally came too late to overturn the deficit, closing the match with the Knights’ 83-72 victory.
The Blazers seek to return to their winning form against the Mapúa University (MU) Cardinals on Oct. 26, 3 p.m., at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City, with a live telecast on One Sports on YouTube, PilipinasLIVE on CignalPlay and NCAA NXT on Cignal TV.
Box Scores:
DLS-CSB (72) - Ancheta 12, Moore 12, Podador 9, Jucom 7, Gonzaga 6, Sanchez 6, Galas 4, Torres 4, Baliquig 3, Arciaga 2, Celis 2, Lorenzo 2, Morales 2, Cajucom 1
CSJL (83) - Walker 21, Buensalida 13, Cargo 13, Santos 10, Gammad 9, Montecillo 7, Estrada 5, Hugo 4, Reyes 1, Borrero 0, Diamante 0, Muyuela 0, Villanueva 0
Quarter Scores: 13-24, 35-48, 48-67, 72-83
