Lions devour Blazers, seize solo lead

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda unloaded early knockout runs to dominate a surprisingly lackluster St. Benilde, 65-46, and grab the solo lead in the 89th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City Thursday night.

The Lions roared to a 17-0 blitz and finished way ahead of the Blazers, 25-2, at the end of the first quarter, which was all they needed to dictate the pace the rest of the way and nail their league best 11th win against two losses.

The Letran Knights fell to second place with a 10-2 (win-loss) record while the Perpetual Help Altas remained at No. 3 with a 10-3 mark.

Art dela Cruz emerged with the best performance of the game with 14 points, seven caroms and four steals.

The two first quarter points, which came from the free throw line after going 0 of 15 from the field, was the lowest output in a quarter this season and in recent memory.

The Blazers fell to seventh spot with a 5-8 mark.