Crippled Blazers survive Stags; Knights roll on

MANILA, Philippines — College of St. Benilde bucked the absence of star player Justin Gutang as it repulsed San Sebastian, 77-72, yesterday to reclaim a share of the lead with San Beda in its strongest start in the NCAA basketball tournament in years.

Unique Naboa and Chris Flores came through with their season-high scoring efforts with 15 and 14 points, respectively, as they helped fill the vacuum left by Gutang, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder who’s out due to an MCL injury.

Three other Blazers scored in double figures as St. Benilde scored a fourth straight win in the season before a sizable crowd at the Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

“This is what’s good about this team, they are ready to contribute when their numbers are called,” said CSB coach TY Tang.

The Stags suffered a third loss in a row after a 2-0 start.

Earlier, Letran needed a double-digit cushion and a late triple by Bonbon Batiller as it overcame a stubborn Mapua, 89-84, to roll to its fifth straight win.

Larry Muyang bulldozed his way to a game-high 24 points he laced with nine rebounds while Batiller scattered 15 including that back-breaking triple that averted a near collapse and allowed the Knights to preserve the win and improve to 5-1 (win-loss).

Slowing down a bit after leading by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, Letran allowed Mapua to battle back to within two, 82-84, with a little over half a minute to go.