MANILA – Justine Sanchez delivered timely shots in the endgame as College of St. Benilde Blazers pulled off a 61-56 escape over the University of Perpetual Help Altas in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball on Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.After seeing their 20-point lead cut to 53-57 with over a minute remaining in the contest, Sanchez converted two inside conversions to widen the Blazers’ lead to 61-53 with 43 seconds left.
The Altas made their last push on a three-point conversion by Mark Gojo Cruz with 20 seconds in the game but could not trim the deficit further due to the defense of the Blazers.
Sanchez top-scored for the Blazers with 16 points, while Allen Liwag added 10 markers as they stayed on top of the standings with a 12-2 win-loss record.
“Perpetual Help, they are desperate for a Final Four seat, so we knew that they would really give it all in this game,” said Blazers head coach Charles Tiu. “We expected this kind of game because they are very disciplined offensively and defensively.”
Christian Pagaran finished with 18 points to lead the Altas, while Cruz contributed 15 markers. They dropped to a 6-9 mark.
Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (7-7) secured a 68-58 victory against the slumping Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights (7-8) to move up to solo fourth place in the standings.
Harvey Pagsanjan led the way for the Generals with 13 points, while Kyle Ochavo contributed 10 markers in the surprising victory.
Johnsherick Estrada finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, while Joseph Nunag added 10 markers for the Knights./PN
