YNOT IGNITES BENILDE'S REVENGE VS MAPUA
By: Miguel Caramoan
Tony Ynot’s explosive scoring proved too much to handle as he powered the College of Saint Benilde to a 75-65 victory over defending champion Mapua University in the NCAA Season 101 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Ynot led the Blazers with an impressive 25 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on an efficient 64.3% shooting from the field in just 19 minutes of action. Allen Liwag provided solid support with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m glad that he’s finally hitting his shots because I think he’s been pressing himself kasi syempre he wants to perform at his capability. He’s been playing with one leg pero ito today bumalik na, grabe siya magpakamatay sa bola and how he fought for the team – his energy really carried them,” said Benilde head coach Charles Tiu on Ynot’s stellar performance.
The Blazers opened the game on fire, racing to an 18-0 start behind the efforts of Ynot and Liwag. They maintained control throughout the first half, taking a 48-36 lead at halftime, fueled by seven made triples.
Mapua, however, mounted a 14-2 rally midway through the third quarter to trim the deficit to 55-54 after a Cyril Gonzales jumper at the 3:16 mark. But Ynot quickly responded with five straight points to restore order and give Benilde a 64-58 advantage heading into the final frame.
The Cardinals stayed within striking distance early in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 64-61, before the Blazers unleashed a decisive 7-0 run capped by an Ian Torres free throw to establish a 71-61 cushion — a margin they would never relinquish.
“We just wanted to make them beat us, and we felt even last year, we kept giving the ball away and looked like we were going to throw the game away in the third quarter. But to us, we just have to get one stop at a time and kahit hindi na kami umiskor,” said Tiu, explaining how the Blazers managed to withstand Mapua’s second-half surge.
The victory allowed Benilde to create separation from Letran in the race for the second spot in Group B, improving to a 6-3 record.
“I think we need to take care of business first. I really think and my goal was to sweep the games this week – and we would be in a good spot. Then I can say we have separation, but other than that, we lose to San Beda, we’re right back tied to Letran. So it’s going to be a dogfight for us,” Tiu said, referring to the tight battle for Group B’s second seed.
The Blazers will look to avenge their opening-day loss to Group B leader San Beda when they clash again on Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
