Saint Benilde coach upbeat despite botched NCAA campaign
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College of Saint Benilde Charles Tiu remains thankful despite their recent unsuccessful run in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament despite missing out on the championship again.
In a social media post, Tiu thanked the squad for their campaign and tipped his hat off to Mapua University after winning in their best-of-three championship series.
The Cardinals ended their 33-year-drought last Saturday after beating the Blazers, 94-82, in Game 2 of the finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I rarely post about our Benilde team but I guess since the season is done, I finally can,” Tiu said.
“I just want to take time to thank all our players for their hard work and dedication this year. We had a lot of ups and downs, some championships in some tournaments but fell short in the most important one.”
“Maybe God has other plans for us.”
The loss hurts and I am still disappointed but Mapua was the better team, better coached and deserved the championship.”
“Hopefully we will have another opportunity again next season,” he added.
The Blazers looked poised to win the title after finishing the elimination round as the second seed with a 14-4 win-loss record.
Saint Benilde even dethroned defending champion San Beda University, 79-63, in the Final Four last 23 November at the Cuneta Astrodome and looked ripe to finally end their 24-year championship drought.
Despite having Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Allen Liwag and veterans Justine Sanchez, Tony Ynot and Gab Cometa, the Blazers weren’t able to find an answer to Mapua’s heart and hustle in the big dance.
Yet all is not lost for Saint Benilde as only Marc Sango and Paul Turco will be exhausting their playing years.
Expected to beef up the Blazers for Season 101 are Shawn Umali of Lyceum of the Philippines University, Raffy Celis of Ateneo de Manila University, and SJ Moore of the University of Santo Tomas.
Also, Tiu will still stick around to call the shots along with the school’s backer Strong Group Athletics.
Liwag, despite being the first MVP-DPOY since Prince Eze of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta in 2018, is eager to come back stronger after getting his first trip to the finals.
“The individual awards don’t matter if you’re not a champion. We need to take care of the ball in every possession,” Liwag said.
