St. Benilde upsets Arellano (5:02 p.m.)

MANILA -- College of St. Benilde went through the wringer on Friday as the Blazers derailed Arellano University’s attempt to move within a striking distance in the Final Four, 71-69, at the Arena in San Juan City.

Mark de Guzman paced the Blazers with 19 points, including his split charities in the last 2.2 seconds to lift the Taft-based squad against the gritty Chiefs.

The win installed St. Benilde in seventh place with a 4-8 (win-loss) slate, while Arellano slipped to a share of sixth and seventh place with Letran for a 4-7 card.

Fourth-running Mapua Cardinals (6-4) are playing against Emilio Aguinaldo College (2-9) as of this posting.

Blazers’ coach Richard del Rosario is seemed to be happy with the performance of his wards but he dropped hints of not making it to the Final Four for the eighth straight year.

“I’m not expecting my team to join the Final Four anymore. Arithmetically, we still have a chance but it’s a long shot for us. We are only after of the experience and for the boys to regain their confidence. We are a young team as seen by the bad decisions they made in the past games,” he told reporters.

Arellano missed two chances to list their fifth win in the tournament when bulky rookie Jerald Lapuz erred on his two foul shots while Vergel Zulueta flubbed a potential long-range shot just as the final buzzer sounded. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)