San Beda Red Lions Jomel Puno against Letran defenders during the clash of the rivals in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA/GMA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–San Beda escaped rival Letran, 66-65, on Tuesday to grab a share of the fourth seed in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.
Jomel Puno powered the Red Lions past the Knights with a career-best 22 points along with 10 rebounds.
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READ: NCAA: San Beda returns to win column, star rookie lifts Perpetual
The victory allowed San Beda to gain a mark within the top four with a 4-3 mark, tied with Perpetual Help, while closing in half a game behind Letran, which dropped to third at 5-3.
Kevin Santos paced the Knights in a losing effort with 18 points along with nine rebounds while Sherick Estrada added 16.
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Benilde avoids meltdown
St. Benilde Blazers in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament. –NCAA/GMA PHOTO
Meanwhile, league leader St. Benilde avoided an upset and staved off Sebastian, 96-94, in overtime.
Carrying his team in OT, Tony Ynot finished with 23 points with eight rebounds and eight assists for the Blazers, who squandered a 26-point advantage.
READ: NCAA: Benilde bounces back, Mapua extends Stags’ losing streak
“I’m not happy at all. This is probably, maybe the worst in my life,” said a livid CSB coach Charles Tiu. “I don’t want to say anything because I’m mad, I’m really mad. That’s an embarrassment.”
The Blazers were up by 67-41 in the third quarter but gave the Stags ample space to make a comeback–led by Rafael Are and Raymart Escobido–and force overtime.
San Sebastian even had a taste of the lead, 94-92, with a little over a minute to play in OT before Justine Sanchez and Jhomel Ancheta scored clutch buckets to salvage the win for St. Benilde.
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The Blazers kept their hold of the top spot at 6-1 while the Stags fell to 2-6.