Finally, Blazers make Final Four

Will Gozum is tipped to serve as the face of the Quezon franchise in the MPBL. Photo by Rio Deluvio
Games Wednesday:
(Filoil EcoOil Centre):
12 p.m. JRU vs Lyceum
3 p.m. San Beda vs Letran
After 20 long years, College of Saint Benilde is back in the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Saint Benilde, behind the power moves of Will Gozum, scored an 83-78 victory over San Sebastian as the Blazers put an end to the Stags' bold bid on Tuesday in Season 98 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Blazers' triumph over the Stags shut the door on the other squads, mainly University of Perpetual Help, from nursing hopes of entering the semifinal round.
Already guaranteed of F4 berths are league-leading Letran College (12-3), Lyceum of the Philippines University (11-5) and San Beda (10-5), which tangle with the Knights this afternoon.
Saint Benilde has an 11-4 mark.
But the win was not handed on a silver platter to the Blazers.
Thinking that the game was in the bag when it led, 80-72, in the fourth frame, the Stags scored four straight points courtesy of Rommle Calahat and Kenneth Villapando.
Still, Saint Benilde simply could not be denied access into the next stage when Mis Ozcon drained a cold-blooded triple with 1:12 remaining off a Gozum screen.
Head coach Charles Tiu was over the moon following the taft-based squad's landmark win.
"It feels great, to be honest. It's one of the goals we had this season. We still didn't think people expected us to be in the Final Four," Tiu, in his second year calling the shots, said.
"It's nice to get it with a win and not because a team is losing. To earn it, it's happy but the job's not done," he added.
