College of St Benilde’s hopes for a decent finish and a possible berth in the PCCL got derailed yesterday as they lost to the Lyceum Pirates 94-89 in overtime. The Blazers end their season at 7th place with a 6-12 record.
The loss ends another frustrating year for CSB, who has not had a winning season in men’s basketball since 2002. The Blazers were actually in the thick of the fight early in the tournament and had a legitimate chance to make it to the Final 4. But a string of tough-luck losses to lower ranked teams, the migration of mainstay Mark Romero to the US and the brief absence of leading-scorer Carlo Lastimosa affected the team’s campaign towards the homestretch.
The future looks bright though for CSB next year as the team will remain intact. With the addition of several key players from team b, the Blazers will definitely contend in 2012.
Meanwhile in the juniors division, La Salle Greenhills crushed Lyceum 118-45 as they solidify their hold on the number 3 seed in the semis. This will be only the third time that the Greenies will advance past the eliminations since returning to the NCAA in 1998. They will be having the twice-to-beat disadvantage when they face the Letran Squires.
Overall, it was the good showing for CSB/LSGH in the first semester events of the NCAA.
Swimming: Mens – 2nd, Womens – 2nd, Juniors -10-time Champion
Chess: Seniors – Champion, Juniors – 4th
Table Tennis: Womens – Champion, Mens – 2nd, Juniors – 7th
Beach Volleyball – Womens – 3rd, Mens – 4th, Juniors – 7th
Boxscores
Jrs
LSGH 118 -Bonleon 21, Torres 17, Manzano 15, Paras 12, Mercado 10, Sy 9, Marcial 9, Tesorero 8, vito 7, Villaruz 4, Ramilo 2, Laigo 2, Barrera 2, Sta Clara 0
Lyceum 45 – Menil 8, Pare 10, Lagman 9, Cecilio 4, Romanes 2, DeLeon 2, Verdad 0, Tropicales 0, Ligot 0, Licerio 0, Cruzada 0, Agdon 0, Agdon 0
Quarterscores: 28-12;60-18;94-29;118-45
Srs
Lyceum 94 – Guevara 27, Napiza 14, Cayabyab 11, Lacap 11, Francisco 10, Laude 8, Ko 4, Mallari 4, Anacta 3, Azores 2, Lesmoras 0
CSB 89 – Lastimosa 24, Tan 12, Pate 11, Sinco 10, Nayve 9, Taha 8, Deles 6, McCoy 3, de la Paz 2, Altamirano 2, de Guzman 2, Carlos 0
Quarterscores: 18-16;36-37;59-57;79-79;94-89