Given their difference in records in the NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament, it would’ve been normal to expect the Benilde Blazers to have a cakewalk against the EAC Generals.
It certainly looked that way as the Blazers erected as much as a 19-point lead. But, at the end of the game, it was EAC that came out on top, 86-78, after a sensational second-half comeback. Part of the reason Benilde squandered that lead, according to team captain Justine Sanchez, was the team falling in love with the trey ball.
“We felt that in the first half, tumatama kami, so ayun, siguro na-in-love na kami sa three-points at hindi na namin nabasa ng maayos ’yung defense. Kaya ayun nag-struggle kami,” Sanchez acknowledged in an interview with Rebanse postgame.
Sanchez’s assessment appears to be true. In the first half, Benilde shot 11-for-20 from beyond the arc. In the second half, the Blazers went 3-for-21 only.
EAC Rises as Benilde Falters
It didn’t help that as the Blazers’ shooting soured, EAC’s improved by a bit as the latter shot 4-for-11 from distance in the second half after going just 1-for-7 in the first half. In all, EAC attempted only 18 triples to Benilde’s 41. The difference only highlighted the Taft side’s over-reliance on the trey and the Generals’ more balanced attack.
It also didn’t help that Benilde, by Sanchez’s own admission, may have relaxed in the second half, allowing the Generals to control the rebounding, 22-18, and getting stifled by the latter’s tenacious defense.
“Noong second half, ang ganda nung depensa nila eh,” Sanchez said. “Siguro nag-relax lang din kami, ang dami naming outrebounded, ang dami rin naming mga missed box-outs. So ayun, it’s a lesson for us.”
Despite the loss, Benilde still sits in second in Group A with a 6-2 record. It will have a few days off before it returns to action against the Letran Knights on October 20.
