Benilde escapes gritty Lyceum

COLLEGE of St. Benilde held off Lyceum, 107-103, to boost its chances to the top of Group A of NCAA Season 102 men's basketball tournament, Friday, at San Andres Sports Complex.

With the win, the Blazers created a three-way traffic on the upper echelon of the pool as they tallied an 8-3 record, tying with San Beda and Jose Rizal University, which both hold identical cards.

John Morales understood the importance of the hard-fought game and in response, dropped 18 points, five rebounds and a steal to match.

“‘Yong tumatakbo lang sa isip ko is, ‘di kami pwede matalo sa game na ‘to. Sa standings, dikit dikit,” he said.

“Inisip ko’ng kailangan ko bumalik at magcontribute kasi isa ako sa mga beterano dito.”

After trailing by as much as 23 points, the Pirates made it convincing late in the fourth quarter after cutting the deficit to six, 99-93.

Matthew Jucom, however, trounced Lyceum’s rally with a triple that brought the Blazers up, 102-93, with 1:16 to go.

The Pirates continued to slug it out with Benilde after three converted free throws from Renz Villegas but Ian Torres nailed the door shut for Lyceum with a three-ball of his own that put the Blazers up for good, 105-96, with 49 seconds to go.

Jucom waxed hot in the Benilde win with 23 points that went with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. SJ Moore and Jhommel Ancheta also helped the cause with 18 and 17 markers, respectively.

Matthew Rubico scored 28 big points but to no avail as the Pirates slipped to a 4-7 card. Villegas also had 26 points in the defeat.

Earlier, the CSB Greenies improved to 8-3 after defeating winless Lyceum (0-11), 94-83.

The EAC Brigadiers (7-4) also squeaked past the Perpetual Help Junior Altas (8-3), 82-80.

Jaime Hizon and Josef Calo-oy exploded for 23 and 21 points in the Benilde win while Xyriel Macahipay had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds in the EAC victory.