COLLEGE of St. Benilde went to Tony Ynot in overtime as it survived an upset-minded San Sebastian College, 96-94, on Tuesday to stay at the helm in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.
Ynot scored five of his team-high 23 points in OT and spiked it with eight rebounds and eight assists as the Blazers kept their stranglehold on the top spot with a 6-1 record.
But CSB coach Charles Tiu wasn’t happy with the win, saying they have no business blowing a mammoth 26-point lead.
“I’m not happy at all. This is probably, maybe the worst in my life,” said a livid Tiu. “I don’t want to say anything because I’m mad, I’m really mad. That’s an embarrassment.”
Truly, the Blazers just totally imploded after erecting a 67-41 edge in the third quarter—their biggest of the game.
CSB almost got buried by the SSC-R avalanche that was created by the duo of Rafael Are and Raymart Escobido as the latter extinguished that once almost insurmountable deficit and sent the game into an extra five-minute period.
There, the Stags finally grabbed the lead, 94-92, and a chance to topple the Blazers on a thunderous triple by Escobido with a little over a minute to go.
It proved to be SSC-R’s last show of force as Justine Sanchez scored on a bucket to knot it at 94 and Jhomel Ancheta, back from a one-game suspension, drove for a layup with six seconds to go that proved to be the dagger.
Escobido found himself open where he made a triple a few plays earlier but hesitated on this one and completely missed it.
The Stags fell to 2-6.
Meanwhile, Jomel Puno delivered a career performance in powering San Beda to a 66-64 victory over archrival Letran Tuesday and into a share of No. 4 with University of Perpetual Help in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.
Puno dropped his personal best 22 points he laced with 10 boards as the Lions reclaimed a place inside the magic four with a 4-3 mark.
It also sent the Knights from No. 2 to No. 3 with a 5-3 slate.
Games Wednesday
(Filoil EcoOil Arena)
12 p.m.- Mapua vs AU
2:30 p.m.- LPU vs UPHSD
