Ian Torres hit a wild shot at the buzzer as College of St. Benilde lived to fight another day after a 77-75 win over San Beda in Game 2 of their NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball semifinals series on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
With steely nerves, Torres buried a contested floater from the free throw line as time ran out.
‘I was exhausted but I told my coaches, ‘I got this,” said a confident Torres.
‘I looked at the clock and saw there was only a second left so I just went for it.’
Before Torres’ heroics, the Red Lions missed a couple of close cracks to take the lead with Nygel Gonzales failing to convert on a drive and Jomel Puno botching a putback attempt that left the door open for the Blazers to win it.
Benilde big man Allen Liwag secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Torres, who went the length of the court for the winner.
Torres finished with 17 points as the Blazers forced a do-or-die Game 3 on Sunday.
Tony Ynot led CSB with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while Justine Sanchez added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Liwag, the reigning MVP, chipped in nine points and 15 rebounds.
San Beda nearly pulled the plug on Benilde’s title bid despite playing without its star swingman Agjanti Miller due to a knee contusion.
Gonzales and Bryan Sajonia carried the offensive load for the Lions in the loss with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
The scores:
ST. BENILDE 77 – Ynot 19, Torres 17, Sanchez 14, Liwag 9, Umali 7, Ancheta 6, Celis 5, Gaspay 0, Cajucom 0, Morales 0, Cometa 0, Oli 0, Galas 0
SAN BEDA 75 – Gonzales 17, Sajonia 16, Puno 14, Estacio 7, Celzo 6, Lina 4, Reyes 4, Andrada 3, Calimag 2, Etulle 2, Bonzalida 0
Quarter scores: 23-24, 36-42, 60-58, 77-75