By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Saint Benilde Blazers continue to roll in the ongoing NCAA Season 97 men’s seniors basketball tournament after prevailing over the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), 78-68.
Too efficient and too explosive, the Blazers held on to their signature offensive schemes and started to pull away in the second half.
Robi Nayve was a big revelation for St. Benilde after going unconscious in the last two quarters, dropping 14 out of his 18 total points in the second half that sparked a huge offensive rally from the Blazers.
EAC kept themselves within striking distance in the first half and used their physicality underneath to score more points in the paint.
However, St. Benilde superstar Will Gozum took care of business in the close-out stretch and contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals.
Makoy Marcos also had a huge game for the Blazers and chipped in 10 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals while Prince Carlos had 10 points.
“For us, it always about getting better every game. That’s really our goal. Win or lose, we wanted to get better. We have to play hard up to the end,” said Blazers coach Charles Tiu.
St. Benilde continues to climb in the NCAA standings and notched their third win in four games while EAC succumbed to their second loss in three games.
