At First Glance: College of Saint Benilde Blazers

Season 89 is College of St. Benilde’s hosting gig. But how are they going to stack up against the competition?

The Good

Paolo Taha and Carlo Lastimosa are back.

This is probably the best wing duo in the land and can be compared to that wing set of Rey Nambatac and Kevin Racal of Letran and Kiefer Ravena and Chris Newsome of Ateneo. Throw in the UST combo of Kevin Ferrer and Jeric Teng.

Taha and Lastimosa can run opponents to the ground as both thrive in open court situations. Give the ball to any of the two and just watch them blitz through everybody. Not to mention, these guys can crash the boards for guys their size. Especially Taha, boy is this guy one hell of a blue-collar worker. His athleticism is always on full display.

Lastimosa, being the nephew of Alaska legend Jojo Lastimosa, is a natural-born scorer. His shot needs some work, but it will all work out since he likes getting to the line and taking the contact for the freebies that ensue.

Watch out for these two to light it up. They won’t take turns. This is a two-headed beast teams have to contend with.

The Bad

Robert Bartolo was brought in to provide one thing: inside presence.

But apparently, it was very lacking. He was supposed to help out and be a vital cog in Coach Richard del Rosario’s scheme of things but he has provided nothing. Is it the Taha-Lastimosa-heavy offense? Not so. Being a new guy, understand that your job is to play a role. You may be the saving grace inside, yes, but that doesn’t entail you to pull a Yousef Taha whenever you don’t touch that basketball.

As San Antonio coach Greg Popovich said last year, “where’s the nasty?!”

The Ugly

Their coach was the guy known as “Richard Knows Free Throws”. But they can’t sink foul shots on a consistent basis and coach Chard has left the building.

Sad to see a great personality go. He was giving the team direction even as they floundered. You can see that he was laying the foundation for the future but they had to cut it short. Funny as he is on air, this guy knows his basketball even if he was just a reserve all through out his PBA career.

Watch out for…

With Taha and Lastimosa headlining the Benilde act, who will serve as their third option?

Look to former LSGH standout Michael Pate to do so. He may not have impressed that much but hey, he had his spurts. Given more consistent minutes, it’s a sure thing he can justify the National team selection he had in High School.

Team Roster

1. Argamino, RJ Edward M.

2. Bartolo, Roberto Jr., D.

3. Carlos, Alison Brandon P.

4. De Guzman, Jericho Louie C.

5. Deles, Ralph Jeffrey S.

6. Garcia, Dexter M.

7. Grey, Jonathan M.

8. Jonson, Travis Jerome M.

9. Mercado, Jose Lorenzo A.

10. Nayve, Raphael Romeo D.

11. Ongteco, Jeffrey Ryan G.

12. Romero, Mark Andrei E.

13. Saavedra, Jose Alfonso

14. Sinco, Luis Antonio Miguel K.

15. Taha, Juan Paolo S.