Hulking Umali carries Blazers past Bombers

Games today:

(Filoil EcoOil Centre)

11 a.m. — Lyceum vs Arellano

2:30 p.m. — San Beda vs EAC

Shawn Umali soared to a career-high 28 points as College of Saint Benilde dispatched Jose Rizal University, 76-66, in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Umali waxed hot after going 11-of-16 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Blazers tightened its grip on the second spot of Group B with an 8-4 win-loss record and qualified to the quarterfinals.

With reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Allen Liwag still nursing a shoulder injury, heaco coach Charles Tiu turned to Umali to terrorize the paint.

“We said, ‘you know what? We have an advantage with Shawn so let’s go to Shawn,’” Tiu said.

“I give all the credit in the world to Shawn. He came to play today in probably his best game in a Benilde uniform by far. He played bully ball and showed why he’s, hopefully, PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) material in the future.”

A layup by Umali with 9:42 in the third quarter kickstarted a 15-4 run that turned a 35-38 deficit into a 52-42 advantage for Saint Benilde.

Umali, who was picked 18th overall by Terrafirma in the PBA Rookie Draft, even gave the Blazers the biggest lead of the game, 76-64, with 1:18 left in the fourth quarter after knocking down a teardrop.

Helping Umali push Benilde were Tony Ynot and Jhomel Ancheta, who finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Shawn Argente was the sole double-digit scorer for the Heavy Bombers with 14 points to his name as JRU dropped to a 6-7 record in Group B.

In the first game, defending champion Mapua University picked up its third straight win after a hard-fought 77-72 overtime victory over San Sebastian College.

Marc Cuenco scored 15 points and five rebounds as the Cardinals improved to a 7-5 record in Group A.

Jose Lumanag had 16 points for the Stags, who dropped to a 6-7 slate.