COLLEGE of Saint Benilde vented its ire of Mapua, 85-72, to solidify its grip of the lead in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre yesterday.

The Blazers capitalized on the Cardinals’ offensive struggles in the payoff period to improve their league’s best record at 8-2.

Bouncing back from its stunning 75-80 loss to last-place Emilio Aguinaldo College, Benilde made sure that there won’t be a repeat of last Sunday’s reversal.

Will Gozum produced a career-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists, while Miggy Corteza chipped in 22 points and eight boards for the Blazers, who were determined to make amends after the embarrassment they received from the hands of the Generals.

“I thought Gozum and Corteza stepped up big time. They took it inside, they got a lot of easy baskets and I gave them all the credit, they played hard,” said Benilde coach Charles Tiu.

“And that’s the effort I expected from them, they both bounced back from last game.”

After a scoreless first three periods, Migs Oczon contributed six points in the Blazers’ 24-8 fourth quarter.

Lyceum of the Philippines University, coming off an upset loss to Mapua last Sunday, rebounded with a 79-73 conquest of EAC.

“Yung team ko alam ko kung paanong mag-bounce back pag natatalo kami. Kumabaga, nanggigigil iyan eh, parang gustong bumawi. Siyempre because of their aggressiveness sa loob ng court kaya din nanalo kami sa game,” said coach Gilbert Malabanan after the Pirates to move up to second place at 8-3.

Mac Guadaña shot 19 points, Enoch Valdez chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and two assists while Vince Cunanan also had 10 points for LPU, who led by as much as 19 points before weathering a late EAC fightback in the second half.

Warren Bonifacio led Mapua with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals while JJ Pido contributed 16 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks.

The Cardinals suffered their ninth loss in 11 games, while the Generals fell to 1-10.

The Blazers went on a telling 19-1 run to put the game beyond recall at 80-65 with less than three minutes left to play.

The scores:

First game

Benilde (85) — Gozum 25, Corteza 22, Cullar 8, Nayve 6, Oczon 6, Sangco 5, Carlos 5, Pasturan 2, Lepalam 2, Marcos 2, Flores 2, Davis 0.
Mapua (72) — Bonifacio 21, Pido 13, Agustin 12, Hernandez 10, Nocum 6, Cuenco 5, Soriano 3, Salenga 2, Mercado 0, Lacap 0, Garcia 0, Parinas 0.
Quarterscores: 24-16, 40-42, 61-64, 85-72

Second game

LPU (79) — Guadaña 19, Valdez 10, Cunanan 10, Umali 7, Vinoya 7, Villegas 6, Bravo 6, Larupay 5, Navarro 4, Peñafiel 3, Montaño 2.
EAC (73) — Cosejo 26, Balowa 12, Maguliano 12, Cosa 7, Bajon 5, Luciano 4, Liwag 4, Tolentino 3, Ad. Doria 0, Dominguez 0, Angeles 0, Quinal 0.
Quarterscores: 29-20, 50-38, 65-53, 79-73