Basketball
Lastimosa masterminds 4th quarter run to blaze Benilde past Lyceum
InterAKTV/Justin Gener
Although the College of Saint Benilde Blazers trailed by four points against Lyceum heading into the fourth quarter, coach Richard del Rosario didn’t lose faith in his players.
“Let’s win this game in the fourth period,” he told his boys.
The Blazers responded to grab a 70-61 victory in their first assignment in Season 88 of the NCAA at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
It was a tight contest in the first half, before the Pirates turned to main gunner Chris Cayabyab and John Azores in the third quarter to take the advantage.
Lyceum still led, 57-51, in the fourth quarter, when CSB unleashed a fiery 14-0 run orchestrated by Carlo Lastimosa to occupy the driver’s seat. The Blazers held on the rest of the way.
Lastimosa finished with 14 points to lead CSB, while Paolo Taha and Luis Sinco added 11 and 10, respectively.
“Medyo relaxed ako nung first two quarters,” said Lastimosa, the 2010 Rookie of the Year. “Puro pasa lang sa teammates and create lang ng plays.
“Nung fourth quarter lang ako naging aggressive and luckily, nagkaroon ng chances to score easily.”
Despite the win, del Rosario said he wasn’t completely satisfied with CSB’s performance.
“I’m still disappointed with our offense and how we defended today. We still have to do a better job since we’ll be going up against a tough team in San Sebastian in our next assignment,” he said.
The Scores:
College of Saint Benilde (70) — Lastimosa 14, Taha 11, Sinco 10, Romero 9, Tan 8, Grey 8, Tolentino 6, Ongteco 4, Bartolo 0, Deles 0, Maconocido 0, Garcia 0, Altamirano 0.
Lyceum of the Philippines University (61) – Cayabyab 13, Ko 11, Guevarra 8, Azores 8, Laude 6, Zamora 5, Francisco 4, Ambohot 4, Mendoza 2, Martinez 0, Garcia 0, Mallari 0.
Quarterscores: 12-12, 33-31, 49-53, 70-61
