Tony Ynot made sure his return for College of Saint Benilde won’t go down the drain as he scored 14 points in their 69-65 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Coming into the court for Matthew Oli with 4:57 left in the first quarter, Ynot fired 4-of-12 from the field and grabbed four rebounds and four assists as the Blazers picked up their 11th win in 13 games.
The 24-year-old guard admitted he was still not fully healed from the ankle sprain he suffered last 8 October after their 84-69 win over Jose Rizal University.
He had to convince head coach Charles Tiu that he was ready to play.
“I feel happy being back. I was able to contribute to the team,” Ynot said.
“Coach Charles asked me if I could play and I said I did. I’m still 60 percent well.”
“Since I just returned from injury, I might give some teammates a chance in our next games.”
With 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Ynot made one of his two free throws to give Saint Benilde a 68-65 lead.
Gab Cometa then sank one of his two free throws with 10 ticks left for a four-point advantage for the Blazers.
Tiu said he wasn’t surprised to see them lead in terms of bench scoring, 43-33, as he expected everyone to contribute.
“To be honest, I don’t really care who starts. It’s about the depth of the game,” Tiu said.
“When you’re in there, you find a way to contribute.”
Tiu also lauded Ynot’s resiliency to play the game against the Generals.
“I guess he needed it. At the start, I think his adrenaline came out when he saw that we were down big against his team,” Tiu said.
“He wanted to help the team out.”
Allen Liwag flirted with a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds while Ian Torres had nine points for Saint Benilde.
Harvey Pagsanjan had 16 points as EAC found itself sharing fifth place with Lyceum of the Philippines University with a similar 6-7 win-loss record.
In the second game, San Sebastian College trashed Arellano University, 88-75.
Tristan Felebrico dropped a double-double game of 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Stags improved to a 4-10 record.
Lorenz Capulong had 14 points as the Chiefs dropped to a 5-9 slate.
The scores:
First game
SAINT BENILDE (69) — Liwag 15, Ynot 14, Torres 9, Cometa 7, Eusebio 6, Sangco 5, Ondoa 4, Sanchez 3, Oli 3, Cajucom 3, Morales 0, Ancheta 0, Turco 0, Serrano 0.
EAC (65) — Pagsanjan 16, Quinal 12, Gurtiza 10, Lucero 5, Doromal 5, Loristo 4, Bacud 4, Ochavo 3, Oftana 3, Bagay 3, Angeles 0, Luciano 0, Ednilag 0, Umpad 0.
QUARTERS: 13-20, 34-34, 49-44, 69-65.
Second game
SAN SEBASTIAN (88) — Felebrico 17, Aguilar 16, R. Gabat 12, Escobido 10, L. Gabat 9, Maliwat 8, Velasco 7, Ramilo 6, Lintol 2, Chuidian 1, Pascual 0, Suico 0, Cruz 0, Barroga 0.
ARELLANO (75) — Capulong 14, Abiera 11, Ongotan 10, Vinoya 8, Libang 6, Camay 6, Valencia 5, Hernal 5, Miller 4, Geronimo 3, Espiritu 3, Borromeo 0, Flores 0.
QUARTERS: 20-22, 35-46, 61-57, 88-75.