College of Saint Benilde kept rolling, hammering a thrilling 61-56 escape of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Justin Sanchez showed the way, firing 18 points and two rebounds to help the Blazers hung tough down the stretch en route to their fifth straight win for a 12-2 win-loss mark entering the final stretch of the eliminations.

Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College cracked into the top four following a 68-58 win over Letran College in the first game.

Harvey Pagsanjan dropped 13 points, three rebounds, and five assists to help the Generals secure their seventh win in 14 games to boost their chances of advancing to the next round.

Saint Benilde head coach Charles Tiu said while the Altas limited them to 10 points in the fourth quarter, he is still happy that they showed toughness and determination to hammer the victory.

“We expected them to come out much better than we played them in the first game. They really defended us very well and credit to Coach Olsen Racela. We slowed down in the fourth quarter,” Tiu said.

“The first three quarters were really good. I was really happy with the way they played in the first half but at least we we’re able to win. We need these types of games to get better.”

The Blazers were up, 51-34, entering the fourth quarter when Perpetual unleashed a 19-8 run to cut the lead to four points with 1:52 left.

Sanchez, however, provided some stability after hitting back-to-back shots to extend the Blazers’ lead, 61-53, with 48 seconds remaining.

Altas rookie Mark Gojo Cruz threatened to pull off an upset after burying a triple with 34.5 seconds left, 56-61.

But that proved to be the Altas’ final basket as Christian Pagaran’s triple bounced off the rim with 15.1 ticks left before Allen Liwag secured the rebound to ice the contest. IVAN SUING

The scores:

First game

EAC (68) — Pagsanjan 13, Ochavo 10, Loristo 9, Gurtiza 9, Oftana 8, Quinal 6, Jacob 4, Ednilag 3, Doromal 2, Lucero 2, Bacud 2, Bagay 0, Luciano 0.

LETRAN (58) — Estrada 10, Nunag 10, Cuajao 9, Monje 7, Miller 6, Montecillo 5, Javillonar 4, Baliling 3, Jumao-As 2, Dimaano 2, Delfino.

QUARTERS: 15-11, 33-29, 54-45, 68-58.

Second game

SAINT BENILDE (61) — Sanchez 16, Liwag 10, Torres 6, Sangco 5, Oli 5, Cometa 5, Turco 5, Ynot 4, Eusebio 2, Jarque 2, Ondoa 1, Ancheta 0, Morales 0, Cajucom 0.

PERPETUAL (56) — Pagaran 18, Gojo Cruz 15, Boral 5, Manuel 5, Abis 4, Pizarro 3, Movida 2, Nuñez 2, Gelsao 2, Thompson 0, Montemayor 0.

QUARTERS: 20-12, 38-22, 51-34, 61-56.