Missed free throws help Blazers slip past Chiefs

Jerald Lapuz and Arellano's loss is Mark De Guzman and St. Benilde's gain.

De Guzman and CSB should be thankful for Lapuz, who missed two free throws down the stretch, allowing the Blazers to escape with a 71-69 victory over the Chiefs on Friday in the 86th NCAA men's basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City. The former RP Under-18 team standout, who nearly played the goat for CSB when he muffed an ill-advised three-pointer in the homestretch, tallied 19 points to help the Taft-based squad rally from an 11-point first quarter deficit and complete the come-from-behind win. But that nearly went in vain with under 30 seconds left in the contest. With CSB protecting a 70-69 lead, De Guzman quickly fired an ill-advised three with 17 seconds left on the shot clock and although Ian Dela Paz grabbed the rebound and was fouled, he failed to convert both shots from the 15-foot line giving Arellano the chance to steal the game. In the next play, Lapuz was then fouled by De la Paz with 5.3 ticks but the burly Arellano big man also missed two free throws and De Guzman was sent to the line with 2.2 ticks to go. De Guzman split his charities and the Chiefs' Vergel Zulueta almost nailed a Hail Mary shot before the buzzer with his shot hitting the left side of the rim. The victory gave St. Benilde its first back-to-back wins this season improving to a 4-8 record. "Being a young team, decisions like that happen," said coach Richard Del Rosario. "It's a good win for us. For us, the important thing is we get better the rest of the way." De Guzman went 6-of-10 from the field although he missed seven of his 12 attempts from the foul line. Still, he managed to score 11 in a second-quarter stretch that helped the Blazers take a 37-34 halftime lead. Dela Paz also provided some scoring spark with 11 points and 10 rebounds. His three-point play off a putback, in the 52.5-second mark, put St. Benilde up at 69-67. Their performances made up for Carlo Lastimosa's nine-point effort after the rookie playmaker was hounded all game long by the Arellano defense. "I'm happy that Mark was able to produce well because he's been struggling," Del Rosario said. "Some of the guys like Ian also stepped up and it's good that Carlo was able to step back." Adrian Celada led Arellano with 23 points and capped off a 13-point first quarter with a buzzer-beating triple for a 26-15 advantage. But the former NCRAA Most Valuable Player fouled out with 4:39 left in the game. Isiah Ciriacruz picked up the scoring slack by for Arellano even hit two consecutive baskets for a 62-58 lead, 4:14 to go, before the Blazers were able to come back. Lapuz had eight points and nine boards. The Chiefs tied Letran at 4-7 and the Chiefs’ loss gave San Sebastian a free ride into the Final Four. The Stags hold a 10-1 card for second spot. - JVP, GMANews.TV