Blazers edge closer to first round sweep

St. Benilde whipped Perpetual Help, 82-50, and moved two wins shy of sweeping its first-round assignments in the 78th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum yesterday.

Sunday Salvacion emerged as top gun anew for the Blazers, firing 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second period.

The Blazers, who won the title two years ago, took a 39-26 lead at the half and were never threatened the rest of the way en route to their fifth straight victory this season. The loss was the third straight and fourth in five games for the Altas.

In the other seniors game, Ronjay Enrile and Francisco Aldave took charge during crunchtime as Letran escaped with a 76-73 victory over Mapua for its third win in five outings. The Cardinals slipped to 2-3.

"We played a solid defense but the bottomline was Salvacion was simply amazing in this game," said St. Benilde mentor Dong Vergeira who also squeezed the best from Ronald Capati and Alex Magpayo.

Capati and Magpayo, one of four St. Benilde players who were suspended one game each for their misconduct in a recent game against Mapua, combined for 30 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. Salvacion added a dozen rebounds and four assists under his name.

Meanwhile, hostilities resume Monday with San Sebastian going up against Jose Rizal and San Beda battling PCU.