Sports

NCAA: Playing with chip on their shoulder, Blazers out to prove their worth


Benilde Blazers in NCAA Season 98.

Benilde Blazers in NCAA Season 98.
Tristan Tamayo’s photo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—In addition to winning the elusive NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball championship, coach Charles Tiu had one more mission on my mind.

Tiu wants to help his players prove their former teams wrong by excluding them from the squad.

“I told them, ‘You know, you guys got cut by the school for one reason or another. That’s why we have something to prove. Prove to everyone that they made a mistake and let you go,'” Tiu said on the Howie Severino Podcast.

So far, the top coach challenge is being actively accepted by the top Blazers players.

Will Gozum, a star in the NCAA Jrs. shared with Mapua in 2018, starting his college career with the University of the Philippines, where he was mostly unused.

After only playing an average of four minutes a game for Fighting Maroons, rookies are highly rated switched to Benilde before Season 97.

Now, Tiu’s bottom line is averaging 16.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and is the leader for the tournament MVP.

“Maybe they didn’t fit the previous coach, the previous team. Maybe they weren’t given the chance. But we want to develop their basketball and we want to show that they belong, they play basketball,” explained Tiu.

Backyard stars have a story almost like Benilde’s grandpa.

Migs Oczon and JC Cullar were former UAAP players who were flourishing with the Blazers in the NCAA.

Oczon is averaging 12.2 points per game, a huge leap from his National College quota in Season 82, where he scored just 4.14 points per game.

Cullar, who was a member of the Oriental University in Season 81, is now an important member of a team, being the captain of Benilde. He’s also the team’s top passer with 4.7 assists per game.

Tiu and his team of unused players will top the NCAA Finals Sunday when they take on defending champion Letran.

Continue reading

Do not miss the latest news and information.

Register QUESTIONER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to news, download as early as 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

For feedback, complaints, or requests, Contact us.

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button