Blazers, Altas duel for solo third

MANILA, Philippines – College of St. Benilde and Perpetual Help collide today for solo third place and a chance to close in on a Final Four berth in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Blazers dumped the Jose Rizal Bombers, 71-69, last week to climb up to third place with a 10-5 (win-loss) record while the Altas shocked the San Beda Lions, 76-75, on Sept. 22 and won via forfeiture over the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals last Friday to move up to No. 4 with a 10-6 slate.

"We will treat our last three games as if its do-or-die games because every win counts," said St. Benilde coach Gabby Velasco, whose last two assignments are already-ran teams Mapua on Oct. 4 and Letran on Oct. 8.

"If we want to make it to the Final Four, we need to win our last two games including this one against St. Benilde," Perpetual Help mentor Aric del Rosario, for his part, said in Filipino.

The Altas are out to avenge their 73-77 defeat at the hands of the Blazers in the first round on Aug. 13.

It was a loss wherein the Las Pinas-based school blew a 13-point third quarter lead and a seven-point fourth quarter advantage with six minutes to go.

The killer was when Juneric Baloria missed two foul shots that with 3.2 seconds that would have knotted the count and forced overtime had he made both.

"We've got to learn from our past mistakes including that one game where we just couldn't hang on to victory," said Del Rosario.

The last time these two teams met, Baloria fired 22 points to outgun Grey, who finished with 19. But it was the latter who came through with the most crucial baskets in the fourth quarter that helped St. Benilde snatch the win.

PBA-bound Harold Arboleda will be the man to watch after he made the two massive free throws and the defensive gem on the Lions in the dying seconds that sealed Perpetual Help the shock win over the four-peat champion, which currently leads the league with a 13-4 card.

The Lions eventually put the game under protest after contesting a non-call in the third quarter. In the end, the board turned it down.