Blazers foil Chiefs; Bombers win in OT

MANILA, Philippines - College of St. Benilde used its quickness and outside shooting to offset its lack in size as it repulsed Arellano U, 70-64, in the 86th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Mark de Guzman scored four of his team’s nine triples and finished with 14 points, nine assists and five rebounds while Carlo Lastimosa chipped in 13 points as CSB opened its campaign on a winning note for joint third place with Mapua.

Defending champion San Sebastian and former three-peat titlist San Beda, two teams tipped to clash again for the crown, show the way with two wins apiece.

“We used our quickness and outside shooting to beat them because it’s our only way to make up for our lack of size,” said CSB coach Richard del Rosario.

It was the fourth straight time that St. Benilde won its opening game with the Blazers hoping to come up with a 2-0 start for the third straight year against the Stags on July 14.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle but we will try to continue the tradition,” said Del Rosario.

Rookie Jerald Lapuz shot 16 points while Adrian Celada and Isiah Ciriacruz added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Chiefs, who beat the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals, 82-72, last week.

Earlier, La Salle-Greenhills overpowered Arellano, 79-57, to likewise nail its first victory while Jose Rizal thumped last year’s losing finalist Letran, 75-64, in the juniors’ division.

In the other game, Jose Rizal relied on Cameroonian Joe Etame in overtime as it turned back a stubborn Letran, 67-62, to nail its first win in two outings.

The 6-7 Etame wound up with 15 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two shot blocks as the Bombers gave their rookie coach Vergel Meneses his first victory.

“It’s a happy feeling finally winning my first game as coach,” said Meneses, a former PBA MVP.