The College of St. Benilde Blazers emerged as champions in the 2023 Corsa Tires Asiabasket Dasmariñas after a 105-84 victory over the Statham Academy in the finals over the weekend at the Dasma Arena in Cavite.
Winston Ynot was named tournament Most Valuable Player after finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block for the Rajko Toroman-led Blazers-B.
Reinforcement Emman Ojuola backed Ynot up offensively as he produced a double-double effort of 14 markers and 11 rebounds alongside three blocks for the Blazers.
The Blazers started to pull away for good in the second quarter, where they torched the United States-based Statham Academy with 37 points while limiting their opponent to just 17 points.
Statham Academy, who was competing in the Asiabasket for the first time, tried to put up a better fight in the fourth quarter, but their comeback attempt fell short.
“Madadala namin ito sa next (NCAA) season, sa season 100, kasi kailangan din namin ipakita next season na kaya namin mag-champion,” said Ynot, who is serving a one-year residency for the Blazers.
The Blazers swept the tournament as they remained undefeated in seven games, securing a 4-0 win-loss slate in the group stage, followed by a 90-43 quarterfinal win against the Pilipinas Aguilas and a 103-86 semifinal triumph over the MisOr Mustangs.
Jonathan Guzman paced Statham Academy with 24 points and nine rebounds, while founder Taylor Statham flirted with a triple-double of 10 markers, eight boards, and nine assists.
Meanwhile, the MisOr Mustangs squandered a double-digit lead and once stared at a 13-point deficit before rallying late to gut out a thrilling 106-104 win against Shawarma Shack in their battle for third place.
Jethro Sombero poured in a double-double effort of 26 points and 15 rebounds, laced with three assists, three steals, and three blocks, while Axel Doromal led their fourth-quarter rampage with 18 markers for the Mustangs.
The post CSB Blazers triumph over Statham Academy, secure Asiabasket Championship first appeared on Fastbreak.
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