College of St. Benilde big man Allen Liwag over Jose Rizal University’s Robin Bernardo. Photo from NCAA Philippines/Angela Davocol.

MANILA — De La Salle-College of St. Benilde flexed its might over Jose Rizal University to clinch its 10th win in NCAA Season 100.

The Blazers dominated the Heavy Bombers, 80-65, during their Round 2 men's basketball tournament clash, Sunday afternoon at the San Juan Arena.

Ian Torres posted his career-best 16 points for the Charles Tiu-mentored squad, while Allen Liwag was their pillar as he finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound outing on top of three assists, a steal, and zero turnovers.

Also finishing in double-digits was athletic forward Justine Sanchez who had 10 points, and following him were Jhomel Ancheta and Anton Eusebio who both contributed nine markers.

Only a three-possession game at the half with CSB leading 42-33, the Taft-based cagers turned the heat up in the third canto by scoring 26 points while also shackling the Heavy Bombers to only producing seven.

Liwag himself outscored the whole JRU team in that span as he poured in nine of his total points in the same frame, and this is despite Marvin Raymundo opening the third on the right note through an early deuce to cut their deficit to seven, 42-35.

CSB even held JRU without a score in a span of over six minutes, and this allowed them to lead by as much as 33, 73-40, following a Torres triple early in the payoff period. 

The Heavy Bombers then went on to actually win the fourth by outscoring CSB, 25-12, but that was not enough to overcome the rampaging Blazers who have won four straight games.

Joshua Guiab led all scorers with 17, while Shawn Argente and Raymundo contributed 14 and 13, respectively, for the Heavy Bombers. Unfortunately, these weren't enough as they fell to 3-9 in the team standings. 

The Scores:

CSB 80 – Torres 16, Liwag 12, Sanchez 10, Ancheta 9, Eusebio 9, Oli 6, Cajucom 5, Cometa 4, Ondoa 4, Serrano 2, Turco 2, Morales 1, Sangco 0, Jarque 0, Galas 0

JRU 65 – Guiab 17, Argente 14, Raymundo 13, Pangilinan 8, De Leon 4, Bernardo 4, Mosqueda 3, Lozano 2, Samontanes 0, Panapanaan 0, Sarmiento 0, Ferrer 0

Quarterscores: 21-16, 42-33, 68-40, 80-65