Liwag: Finals series far from over

Allen Liwag is determined to do everything to help College of Saint Benilde flip the script to beat Mapua University in their Season 100 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament best-of-three finals series.

Liwag, the frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award, said the series is still far from over as the Blazers are plotting a huge fightback in Game 2 that will be held on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

From there, anything can happen when they march to Game 3 that is scheduled on Saturday at the same Cubao venue.

“I just want to be a champion. That’s the most important thing for me,” said Liwag, who erupted for 18 points and 14 rebounds in their 73-84 loss to the Cardinals in Game 1 last Sunday.

“If we win, I’m happy.”

A transferee from Emilio Aguinaldo College, Liwag is serving as the anchor of this hungry Blazers squad.

The 6-foot-6 slotman finished the elimination round with 14.61 points and 11.28 rebounds per game to help the Blazers post 14 wins in 18 matches to cop the second seed behind the Cardinals.

Then, he fired 20 points and eight rebounds to power the Blazers to a 79-63 win over reigning champion San Beda University in the Final Four on 23 November.

Saint Benilde head coach Charles Tiu said he wants Liwag to stay consistent against the Cardinals while asking the rest of the squad to step up for Game 2 after converting 21-of-37 two-point shots and 5-of-21 three-pointers on top of 23 turnovers in Game 1.

“He did miss a couple of free throws. He missed the layup. But, other than that, I mean, he was great,” said Tiu, hoping to become the first coach to lead the Blazers to their first title in 24 years.

“We just didn’t do a good job of doing it so we just want to make sure we stay focused and don’t let the big moment get to the players because that’s really what’s probably the problem for us.”