Blazers ready to end long title drought

College of Saint Benilde is determined to end its long title drought when it competes in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament starting 1 October at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Blazers head coach Charles Tiu said they are willing to go all out to give the school its first title since the group of Sunday Salvacion and Mark Magsumbol clinched its first title in 2000.

Tiu said they are ripe for the crown as they parade a solid roster that doesn’t just have the height, heft and firepower, but also the experience to win it all.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Allen Liwag will be making a return as well as veterans Justine Sanchez, Gab Cometa, Jhomel Ancheta and Tony Ynot with former Gilas Pilipinas head coach Rajko Toroman serving as consultant. For good measure, they added former Lyceum of the Philippines big man Shawn Umali to relieve the pressure off the shoulders of Liwag down low.

Tiu said he couldn’t wait to see the tandem of the 6-foot-8 Liwag and 6-foot-6 Umali dominate the shaded lanes in the country’s oldest collegiate league.

“Allen is improving a lot as a player, no doubt about that, but what I’m hoping this year is we won’t have to rely on him too much,” Tiu said during the league’s press launch on Monday.

“We now have Shaun Umali to help him. Shaun is physical, a post presence, a good defender, and he’s one of our leaders as well. He’ll be a huge help for us.”

After winning the title in 2000, the Blazers suffered a long Final Four drought until 2021. Tiu replaced his fellow Xavier alumnus TY Tang as head coach in Season 97 in 2022 but failed to reach the Final Four.

With Will Gozum at the helm, the Blazers stormed back in Season 98 and made it all the way to the best-of-three finals. But they fell prey to a veteran Letran College squad, which won their third straight title.

The Blazers made the Final Four again the following season but bowed to Mapua University. Last year, Season 100, the Blazers stormed back into the finals, but they bowed to the Cardinals anew, clinching their first NCAA crown since 1991.

Tiu believes that their time has finally come.

“Last year we panicked, we lacked the experience, we weren’t ready for the big moments,” Tiu admitted.

“So this year we worked on that. We worked on a lot of issues that we struggled with in the Finals, and we’re trying to be a deeper team.”

Tiu, one of the country’s brightest young coaches, added that at the end of the day, it’s all about the program and the culture that would lead to their breakthrough title.