COLLEGE of St. Benilde made sure to get its revenge over Mapua in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament as the Blazers beat the Cardinals, 75-65, at Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday.

The Blazers, who faltered to Mapua in last year’s Finals, improved to a 6-3 record in Group B to keep their hold of the pool’s second seed.

Generally, the win gave Benilde some much-needed breathing room in the team standings but coach Charles Tiu wasn’t entirely thrilled.

“We had to take care of the ball which we did in the first half but we made mind boggling mistakes in the second half,” he said.

“Thankfully, we defended well enough to win the game.”

As a team, the Blazers turned the ball over 21 times. It also didn’t help their cause that the defending champions had active hands with 10 steals as a squad.

Still, those mistakes weren’t enough to dampen the momentum Benilde built in the first quarter.

The Blazers started out the game hot with an 18-0 lead which Mapua had a tough time getting back from.

The Cardinals were able to finish the third salvo strong, shaving Benilde’s deficit to six, 64-58, but they would only score seven lowly points in the final frame. They never took the lead the entire game.

Tony Ynot powered Benilde with an all-around game of 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Reigning MVP Allen Liwag also recorded a double-double in the win with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Cyrus Cuenco finished with 14 points and seven rebounds but to no avail. Earl Sapasap also scored 13 in a losing effort. Fortunately for Mapua, despite crumbling to a 4-5 card in Group A, it still remained as the second seed behind Perpetual Help (8-1).

The scores:

ST. BENILDE (75) – Ynot 25, Liwag 12, Cajucom 8, Sanchez 6, Moore 6, Morales 4, Eusebio 4, Torres 3, Umali 3, Celis 2, Cometa 2, Oli 0, Ancheta 0

MAPÚA (65) – Cuenco 14, Sapasap 13, Escamis 11, Concepcion 9, Gonzales 8, Nitura 7, Reyes 4, Igliane 0, Gulapa 0, Recto 0, Ryan 0, Lazarte 0, Callangan 0

Quarterscores: 30-19, 48-36, 64-58, 75-65.