St. Benilde storms past EAC, boosts quarters bid

MANILA, Philippines - St. Benilde put on a strong finishing kick to beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 87-77, and firm up its quarterfinal bid in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the San Juan Arena.

Paolo Taha scored all but five of his 16 points in the fourth period as the Blazers pounced on the Generals’ series of miscues and broke away from a 68-all count en route to victory.

It was St. Benilde’s third win in five games with one more game in the elims while EAC slid to 2-2 with two more matches left in the elims.

In other Filoil action, Lyceum of the Philippines University drubbed the RP Youth Under-18 national team, 89-67.

The Pirates imposed their strength in the second period and led by as many as 23, 43-20, before cruising in the second half to match St. Benilde’s 3-2 card.

The national team took its fourth straight setback.

For much of the second half, Taha and EAC’s Sidney Onwubere battled it out in a virtual shootout with the latter finishing with a game-high 27 points, highlighted by a slam off a fastbreak.

For a while, St. Benilde appeared headed for a cruise after posting double-digit leads but the Generals twice came back to seize control behind Onwubere and Jan Jamon.

But the Blazers struck back and regained the lead at 76-71 before RJ Argamino, JR Ongteco, and Fons Saavedra took charge to finish off the Generals.