Blazers rip Altas, stay in race for Final Four

Defending champion St. Benilde held Perpetual Help to a single basket in the final two minutes yesterday to carve out a 76-63 victory that kept its Final Four hopes going in the 77th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Sunday Salvacion and Mark Magsumbol had 15 points apiece for the Blazers, who moved up to fifth overall with a 4-5 record. It was the second straight win in the second round for St. Benilde, which lost its last five games in the opening round.

For the Altas, a team bannered by the explosive duo of Chester Tolomia and Gilbert Malabanan, it was their third straight loss as they dropped in the standings with a 4-6 record. Perpetual lost its last two games to Letran, 70-71, and giant-killer Philippine Christian University, 69-74.

"The struggle is not yet over. We still want to further improve our position in the second round that’s why we still have to win as many games as possible," said St. Benilde coach Dong Vergeire. "It was a team effort. The boys played aggressively all throughout."

In the other game, Mapua survived San Beda’s gritty stand to pull off a 68-66 victory and climb into solo second with its sixth win in nine games while handing the Red Lions their eighth straight loss after an opening-day win over PCU.

The Red Lions, who trailed by a dozen points early in the final quarter, came to within 66-67 with only eight seconds left before Mapua’s Christian Guevarra was fouled. He split his charities for the final score.

San Beda failed to send the game into overtime when Alfred Casio’s desperation shot from 20 feet bounced off the rim. — Abac Cordero