By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The College of Saint Benilde Blazers staged a lopsided victory to dethrone the reigning champions San Beda Red Lions, 79-63, during their semifinal matchup in the NCAA Season 100 Men’s Basketball Final Four tournament on November 23, 2024, at the Cuneta Astrodome.
After missing the grand finals stage last season, the Blazers are buck and are hungry as ever, trouncing the defending champions with their in-and-out offensive efficiency from the get-go.
Allen Liwag was a man on a mission for St. Benilde as the dominant center schooled every defender that San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta threw at him, capitalizing on his crafty footwork at the post while also making them pay with his efficient face-up perimeter jumpers.
Liwag set the tone for the Blazers in the opening period after firing eight quick points kicked off by back-to-back power moves in the shaded lane and two baby hooks in the block.
Backstopping Liwag’s demolition exhibition display against the Red Lions was Tony Ynot, the team’s veteran point guard, who used his international experience with the Strong Group Athletics to orchestrate the Benilde offense to perfection.
However, Ynot didn’t necessarily turn his focus on distributing the ball as he exposed San Beda’s smaller guards by posting them up in the left elbow.
That then steered St. Benilde’s one-sided outing in the second quarter when they ballooned their lead to 20 points, going unconscious from the field to silence every San Beda supporter in attendance.
It was pretty much over midway through the third when the Blazers extended their largest advantage to 30 points, capped off by a layup from Liwag and a side-step jumper from Ynot.
The Red Lions tried their all to chip away their deficit but they were hounded by their cold shooting from the field which was capitalized by the Blazers.
Liwag led all scorers with 20 big points alongside eight rebounds while Ynot chipped in 17 markers, four assists, and three boards.
On the other hand, it was only Penny Estacio who reached double figures in scoring from the San Beda core. Yukien Andrada, their superstar big man, will have a performance to forget after only tallying seven points in almost 33 minutes of playing time.
With the huge win, Liwag and St. Benilde just set up a clash of the titans against Clint Escamis and the Mapua Cardinals, last year’s runner-ups.
