Benilde beats Baste, Letran rookie out of awards race
College of St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag muscles through San Sebastian defenders during an NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament game. –NCAA Photo
MANILA, Philippines—College of St. Benilde sent San Sebastian crashing to its eighth straight loss in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.
The Blazers defeated the Golden Stags, 91-85, at San Juan Arena on Sunday to keep a tight grip on the first seed with an 8-2 slate.
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Allen Liwag led St. Benilde with 18 points and six rebounds while Ian Torres and Matthew Oli helped the cause with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball schedule
Rafael Are exploded anew for the Stags with 29 big points but it wasn’t enough to lift San Sebastian out of a 2-8 slump. Lauren Gabat scored 21 and Tristan Felebrico tallied a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
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Just below the Blazers in the standings are San Beda and Mapua, which both hold a 7-3 record.
Rookie Estrada bows out of award races in Knights’ fall to Altas
Letran’s Sherick Estrada gets emotional after being ejected. -NCAA Photo
Letran rookie Sherick Estrada was on the running for both the Rookie of the Year and MVP races in the current tournament.
Until Sunday.
Estrada was ejected in the Knights’ 71-61 loss to Perpetual Help, effectively taking the rookie out of the running for award races.
In the fourth quarter when the Altas were leading, 65-52, Estrada questioned a call by the referee with 2:40 to go in the period.
The newcomer out of St. Clare College couldn’t contain his emotion and swatted away the referee’s hand in protest which ultimately resulted in a disqualifying foul.
Estrada finished with 14 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal prior to his ejection. Letran dropped to a 6-5 card.
The Altas broke their four-game losing streak and improved to a 5-6 record, thanks to the effort of Christian Pagaran and rookie Mark Gojo Cruz, who finished with 19 and 15 points, respectively.
