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Benilde Blazers
University	De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde
History	Benilde Blazers (1998–present)
Head coach	Charles Tiu (2nd season)
Location	Malate, Manila
Nickname	Blazers
Colors	Green, Black, and White
NCAA Champion
2000

The Benilde Blazers basketball program represents De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (CSB) in men's basketball as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA). The Benilde Blazers joined the NCAA in 1998, having been a fixture in the National Capital Region Athletic Association. The Blazers notably won its first and only NCAA title in 2000 under probation.

History

Beginnings at NCRAA

CSB applied to join the NCAA as early as 1991; several student organizations opposed CSB's entry to the NCAA.

They had participated in the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) as early as 1994.

On March 1998, the NCAA announced the entry of CSB, with a probationary period of three years.

Champions under probation

Two years later, they won the championship vs. the San Sebastian Stags, while under probation. The Blazers won just days after their brother team De La Salle Green Archers won the UAAP championship. The Blazers, under the leadership of players such as Mark Magsumbol and Sunday Salvacion developed a rivalry with the Stags, whom they met again the Finals two years later; this time, the Stags won. Dong Vergeire coached the Blazers during this time.

Playoff drought

After this run of qualifying to the playoffs, the Blazers have not made it to this stage of the tournament since. From 2005 until 2007, they were coached by former Benilde player Caloy Garcia; he led them to three consecutive losing seasons. Gee Abanilla and Richard del Rosario next coached the team for the next four years, with the team missing the playoffs on all instances, with Del Rosario resigning in 2012. With new coach Gabby Velasco, the Blazers avoided last place in 2013, then narrowly missed the playoffs in 2014. The next year, the Blazers endured a 17-game losing streak, only to win on their last game, finishing last. Velasco resigned and was replaced by TY Tang. Tang led the Blazers to fifth place finishes in his second and third year of coaching the team, but migrated to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the Blazers appointed Charles Tiu to coach the team. In his first year in NCAA Season 97 would be closest they've gotten to make it to the playoffs where they finished fourth after the elimination round, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, each team met the other teams only once, and a play-in tournament was done in lieu of the second round. It was in the play-in tournament where the Blazers were eliminated.

Consecutive playoff appearances

Tiu still coached the team on the next season. The Blazers ended the elimination round at the #1 seed. The Blazers qualified to its first Finals appearance in 20 years, defeating the San Beda Red Lions in the semifinals. The Blazers lost in the Finals to the three-peat seeking Letran Knights, though. Will Gozum was named season MVP.

In NCAA Season 99, the Blazers finished 4th in the standings for their first consecutive stints in the Final Four since seasons 76 and 77 after posting an 11-7 record. They lost to the top seeded Mapúa Cardinals 78-67 but won the inaugural battle for third place game against the Lyceum Pirates 93-83. In the NCAA's centennial season, CSB finished second, and will face San Beda anew in the semifinals.

Current roster

Benilde Blazers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Year High School F 3 Arciaga, Jesse 6'5" (1.96m) 2nd – PG 17 Ancheta, Jhomel 5'9" (1.75m) 1st – G 11 Cajucom, Joshua 6'0" (1.83m) – – G 41 Carillo, Gene 6'1" (1.85m) 1st – G 72 Cometa, Gabriel 5'11" (1.8m) – – F/C 22 Eusebio, Anton 6'5" (1.96m) – – F 42 Galas, Irele 6'4" (1.93m) – – G/F 1 Jarque, Zenric 6'4" (1.93m) – – C 34 Liwag, Allen 6'6" (1.98m) 3rd – F 6 Morales, John 6'4" (1.93m) – – F 0 Oli, Matthew 6'2" (1.88m) 1st – F 14 Ondoa, Roger 6'2" (1.88m) – – F 20 Sanchez, Justine 6'5" (1.96m) – – F 9 Sangco, Mark  (C) 6'4" (1.93m) 5th – F/C 63 Serrano, Edson 6'5" (1.96m) – – G 13 Torres, Ian 6'0" (1.83m) – – F/C 8 Turco, Paul 6'6" (1.98m) – – G 39 Ynot, Winston 6'1" (1.85m) – –	Head coach Charles Tiu Assistant coach(es) Marvin Bienvenida JC Cullar Paolo Layug Gabby Severino Carlo Tan Rajko Toroman (consultant) Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 2024-09-03

Head coaches

• 1998–1999: Bong Go
• 2000–2003: Dong Vergeire
• 2004–2005: Tonichi Yturri
• 2005–2007: Caloy Garcia
• 2008: Gee Abanilla
• 2009–2012: Richard del Rosario
• 2013–2016: Gabby Velasco
• 2017–2021: TY Tang
• 2021–present: Charles Tiu

Season-by-season records

Honors

• Championships:
  • NCAA (1): 2000

See also

• Strong Group Athletics
• Pilipinas Super League
• AsiaBasket

Notes

1. Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Season postponed to early 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. Atencio, Peter (1991-10-10). "La Salle appeals replay; Benilde seeks NCAA entry". Manila Standard. p. 24.
2. "McDo-NCRAA all set for 2 tourneys". Manila Standard. 1993-12-31. p. 23.
3. Atencio, Peter (1998-03-27). "NCAA keeps 3-year residency to ward off player pirates". Manila Standard. p. 12.
4. Navarro, June (October 12, 2000). "Benilde sweeps SSC". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2000. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
5. Reyes, Marc Anthony (September 21, 2002). "Stampeding Stags snare it anew". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
6. Ramos, Gerry (September 20, 2013). "Dong Vergeire, ex-national cage coach, passes away". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
7. ^ "Coach Charles Tiu disappointed that CSB will miss Final Four due to new play-in format | NCAA Philippines". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
8. ^ "Caloy stays by Guiao's side". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
9. ^ "St. Benilde loses coach as Del Rosario steps down". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
10. "St. Benilde Blazers can't shake off 'Heartbreak Kids' tag as they fall just short of the semifinals". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
11. "St. Benilde eludes winless season with emotional win vs Lyceum". ABS-CBN News. 2016-09-23.
12. ^ Flores-Colina, Celest (2016-11-23). "TY Tang named St. Benilde head coach". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
13. Li, Matthew (2021-09-11). "TY Tang migrates to Canada as CSB position now vacant". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
14. ^ Masoy, Niel Victor C. (2021-12-03). "St. Benilde appoints Charles Tiu as new head coach". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
15. Jr, Rommel Fuertes (2022-11-24). "NCAA: No. 1 Benilde faces San Beda, Letran battles Lyceum in Final Four". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
16. Cruz, Zachi (2022-11-29). "NCAA 98: CSB ends 20-year Finals drought, eliminates San Beda". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
17. Ramos, Josef (2022-12-18). "Letran outlasts Benilde, 81-67, in Game 3 to win NCAA title | Josef Ramos". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
18. Payo, Jasmine (2022-12-11). "CSB's Will Gozum hailed as NCAA Season 98 MVP". RAPPLER. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
19. Saldajeno, Ivan (2023-11-28). "Mapua returns to NCAA Finals after pipping CSB". dugout.ph. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
20. Bugauisan, Nicole Anne D. G. (2024-11-16). "Mapua downs Arellano, secures No. 1 seed in NCAA". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
21. "Salvacion, Blazers' NCAA champion team remember late coach Vergeire with fondness". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
22. "Dong Vergeire, ex-national cage coach, passes away". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
23. "Abanilla St. Benilde's new coach". The Daily Tribune. 2008-01-21.
24. "Ex-DLSU guard changes stripes, now a UST Tiger". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.

v t e National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournaments
Champions Men's final four results
Teams	Arellano Chiefs Letran Knights Benilde Blazers EAC Generals JRU Heavy Bombers Lyceum Pirates Mapúa Cardinals San Beda Red Lions San Sebastian Stags Perpetual Altas
Seasons	Pre-war era 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 Pennant era 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Best-of-3 finals era 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Final four era 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021* 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Rivalries	Arellano vs. San Beda Battle of Intramuros Letran vs. San Beda Letran vs. San Sebastian San Beda vs. San Sebastian San Beda vs. Perpetual San Sebastian vs. JRU
*Played in early 2022

• National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) basketball teams
• Philippine Basketball League teams