San Beda edges St. Benilde

MANILA, Philippines – Defending champion San Beda College (SBC) hammered a hard fought 79-78 win over College of St. Benilde on Friday’s 87th NCAA men’s basketball at The Arena in San Juan City.

Baser Amer scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help San Beda douse Benilde’s searing late-game rally.

Amer’s successive triples made it 77-71 for the Lions just over 2 minutes left in the game.

However, the Blazers threatened to take over by stringing a series of plays that brought Benilde within 1 point, 79-78, with just 13 seconds remaining.

Carlo Lastimosa had the chance to win it for Benilde, but San Beda’s defenders forced him to miss his final shot in the dying seconds of the game.

Kyle Pascual top scored the Lions with 16 points while Garvo Lanete added 12.

It was the Lions' 4th straight win in as many starts. San Beda tied last year’s runner-up, San Sebastian Stags, at the top of the standings.

Lastimosa led the Blazers with 19 points. Jonathan Grey added 13. These outputs, however, were not enough to save Benilde.

The Blazers fell to their 3rd loss in 4 games.

In the first game, Jose Rizal University (JRU) edged hard-luck Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), 70-69.

John Lopez led the Heavy Bombers with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

Box scores:
San Beda 79 -- Pascual 16, Lanete 12, Amer 11, Semerad 8, Caram 8, (Jake) Pascual 7, Marcelo 5, Dela Rosa 5, Semerad 3, Sorela 2, Pontejos 0, Villahermosa 0, Lim 0

St. Benilde 78 -- Lastimosa 19, Grey 13, Taha 11, Sinco 10, McCoy 8, Romero 6, Dela Paz 5, Altamirano 4, Deles 2, Tan 0

Quarter scores: 21-16, 41-38, 60-57, 79-78