Romwel Anzures

College of Saint Benilde’s Tony Ynot and Raffy Celis against Mapua University in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball quarterfinals. Photo by Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.

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<div style="line-height:1.5"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764311251570IMG_9115.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="College of Saint Benilde’s Tony Ynot and Raffy Celis against Mapua University in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball quarterfinals. Photo by Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines."/>College of Saint Benilde’s Tony Ynot and Raffy Celis against Mapua University in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball quarterfinals. Photo by Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.</div>MANILA (UPDATED) — De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde has dethroned Mapua University to advance to the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball Final 4. The Blazers finally exorcised the ghosts of their past with a 74-72 win, eliminating the defending champion Cardinals in their quarterfinal Game 2 showdown on Friday at the FilOil Centre in San Juan. Leading the Taft-based cagers was Raffy Celis who posted 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Tony Ynot scattered 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. This win allowed Benilde to finally overcome Mapua — which had eliminated them for the past two seasons — and head coach Charles Tiu was relieved to have finally solved the Cardinals puzzle. “That looked like a game where we would let slip out of our hands again,” said Tiu, after they avoided squandering a 47-29 lead. “Everyone is counting us out, so I told the boys we have something to prove, and they stepped up to the challenge,” he added. Benilde will now face San Beda University in their Best-of-3 semifinal clash which opens on Tuesday, December 2, at 2:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao. But just as Tiu mentioned, it came after his wards survived yet another Mapua fightback, even with Clint Escamis prematurely ending his NCAA career at the 9:05 mark of the fourth canto following his flagrant foul 2 on Tony Ynot. Facing a 62-63 deficit midway through the same frame, the Blazers unleashed a seven-to-nothing charge for a 69-63 lead, with Shawn Umali and Ian Torres taking turns in that run. JC Recto, however, later on managed to make it a one-possession ball game, 74-72, thanks to his triple with only 13 seconds remaining, leaving the door open for the Cardinals to tie the contest or escape with the win. Torres was called for a traveling violation to further boost the Mapua faithful’s hopes, but Recto went blank from the 15-foot stripe after being fouled by Justine Sanchez, and that eventually resulted in the dethronement of the defending champs. Umali came in clutch by scoring all of his five points in the fourth, while Torres helped seal the win with his 12 markers. On the other hand, Escamis ended his NCAA career scoring only three points on 0-of-6 shooting from the field. He also fired blanks in Game 1, finishing with two points on 0-of-10 field goals. Stepping up was Recto who had 18, Marc Cuenco with 17, and Cyril Gonzales who notched 11. The Scores: Benilde 74 – Celis 18, Torres 12, Ynot 11, Liwag 9, Sanchez 6, Umali 5, Ancheta 5, Gaspay 4, Morales 2, Cajucom 2, Oli 0. Mapua 72 – Recto 18, Cuenco 17, Gonzales 11, Sapasap 7, Nitura 4, Concepcion 4, Delos Reyes 4, Lazarte 4, Escamis 3, Igliane 0, Abdulla 0, Reyes 0. Quarterscores: 24-17, 47-31, 60-53, 74-72.

Benilde has dethroned Mapua to advance to the #NCAASeason101 men’s basketball Final 4 as the Blazers finally exorcised the ghosts of their past.

Benilde has dethroned Mapua to advance to the #NCAASeason101 men’s basketball Final 4 as the Blazers finally exorcised the ghosts of their past.

NCAA: Benilde dethrones Mapua as Escamis ends college career with DQ foul

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NCAA: Benilde dethrones Mapua as Escamis ends college career with DQ foul

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 28, 2025 02:33 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 29, 2025 12:42 AM PHT

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Basketball

NCAA

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NCAA Season 101

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Clint Escamis

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