Blazers upset Mapua

College of Saint Benilde played its best game so far and caught Mapua napping for a 70-67 win, its first after three tries.

The Blazers stayed close with the Cardinals throughout the contest and grabbed a three-point lead with two seconds to go on a split by Jan Tan from the line.

That lead turned out to be the winning margin, as Josant Nimes missed a potential-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

Tan scored 15 points on a 6-of-9 shooting and had four rebounds for St. Benilde, while Carlo Lastimosa and Mark Romero had 11 apiece.

“He (Tan) has to believe on himself. He’s a big man with a good shooting touch from the perimeter and he needs to gain confidence to be a good player,” said St. Benilde coach Richard del Rosario.

Mapua, which played minus the suspended Fil-Palestinian Yousef Taha, dropped to 0-2 for ninth place.

Kenneth Ighalo scored 12 points, while Mark Sarangay and Allan Mangahas chipped in 10 points each for the Cardinals.

Second Game (Srs)
St. Benilde (70) - Tan 15, Romero 11, Lastimosa 11, Gery 10, Altamirano 5, Mccoy 4, Taha 3, Sinco 3, Pate 0

Mapua (67) - Ighalo 12, Sarangay 10, Mangahas 10, Nimes 9, Banal 9, Cantos 6, Ranises 6, Pascual 4, Stevens 1, Parala 0