The Benilde Blazers stayed unblemished through two games in the NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament, pulling away from Lyceum Pirates, 98-82, on Thursday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The win moved the Blazers into solo first place in Group A at 2-0, following up their season-opening upset of the defending champion San Beda Red Lions.
Making their season debut, the Pirates hung with Benilde for most of the first half, even grabbing a slim 48-47 lead with 1:32 left in the second quarter. But the Blazers closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 57-50 lead into the break, playing without Raffy Celis due to illness.
Benilde Cooks Up Third-Quarter Storm
The third quarter is where the game turned decisively. Benilde opened the second half with a 17-9 run, capped by an Alaine Cajucom bucket that made it 74-59 with 2:34 left in the period, and kept pushing from there to build an 18-point cushion, 83-65, heading into the fourth. Lyceum never got closer after that, held to just 17 points in the final frame as Benilde’s bench depth took over down the stretch.
“I’m happy that we stayed calm and collected. We still had 21 turnovers, some silly ones. But for the most part, we were able to execute and establish order,” said CSB head coach Paolo Layug. “Whoever we put in the game, we trust them. I think we put in 11 or 12 players in the last two minutes. We trust everyone, and a lot of the guys stepped up today.”
Matthew Jucom led Benilde with 17 points and 6 rebounds, crediting the team’s defensive focus over chasing individual scoring. “Hindi kami naglolook for scores, we looked for defense. Ginawa namin ‘yong mga trabaho namin as players,” Jucom said. “‘Di kami pwede magrelax. Magpapahinga lang kami bukas and then the next day, bakbak agad sa ensayo.”
Team Effort from the Blazers
Six Blazers scored in double figures. Irele Galas added 13 points, Justine Sanchez and Cajucom each had 12, and SJ Moore and John Morales scored 10 apiece. Benilde shot an efficient 53.3 percent from the field, while Lyceum struggled at 43.1 percent.
Renz Villegas did his best to keep Lyceum in it, posting a game-high 24 points and 4 rebounds, but the effort went for naught as the Pirates dropped their season opener under returning coach Jamike Jarin. Matthew Rubico, Simon Peñafiel, and Roger Ondoa each added 11 points in the loss.
Lyceum looks to get into the win column against the Mapua Cardinals on Monday, September 21, at 3:00 p.m., while Benilde chases a 3-0 start against the JRU Heavy Bombers on Tuesday, September 22, also at 3:00 p.m. Both games are set for Philsports Arena in Pasig.
