BY CHRISTINE MONCADA

JOSE Rizal University added to the woes of erstwhile solo leader College of St. Benilde, scoring a hard-earned 75-67 victory yesterday in the 84th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Astrodome.

The Heavy Bombers proved steadier down the stretch, outscoring the Blazers 22-14 en route to their first victory in three outings.

"We’re hoping this would be the start of something big for this team," said JRU coach Ariel Vanguardia.

"May mga ginawa kaming konting adjustmentd sa defense dahil ‘yung mga lapses namin in that department ang biggest factors kaya natalo kami sa mga previous games," he added.

After the Blazers closed in at 59-62 on a three-pointer by Aaron Umlas, John Wilson responded with his own trey while veteran JR Sena completed a three-point play as the Bombers took a comfortable 68-59 lead with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter.

The Blazers threatened anew at 63-68 but JRU promptly squashed the threat with a split free throw by Wilson and a lay-up by Sena that gave the Bombers a 71-63 advantage with 1:40 remaining.

The Blazers, coached by Gee Abanilla, absorbed their second consecutive defeat after initially going 2-0.

Sena finished with 21 points while Marc Cagoco added 20 points and three steals for JRU.

Jeff Morial paced St. Benilde with 17 points and Archie David had 12 points and five rebounds.

In the juniors division, Keith Agovida tallied a double-double of 37 points and 15 rebounds as the Jose Rizal Light Bombers routed the CSB-La Salle Greenhills Junior Blazers 105-80.

In the other seniors’ game, Mapua banked on the steady hands of Mark Sarangay to pull the rug from under Philippine Christian University 77-71.

Sarangay scored 13 points to go with six rebounds and one steal as the Cardinals improved to 2-1.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Kelvin dela Peña, who averaged a measly nine points in the past two games, finally made his presence felt and contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Cardinals.

Veteran Neil Pascual and Allan Mangahas combined for 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Cardinals were protecting a 72-61 lead with less than four minutes left in the fourth when the Dolphins launched a rally to make it 72-67, capped by Beau Belga’s three-point play with a minute to play.

It was the best PCU could do, however, as key players Belga and Lizstian Amaparado graduated on fouls in the ensuing plays.