The Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates took the bronze medal for the 2017 Preseason Premier Cup as they controlled fellow NCAA pre-season contenders Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 82-75, Sunday afternoon in the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“It’s either you’re gonna play their game, or you’re gonna play our game,” Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson said about needing to control the pace of the game against the dangerous Heavy Bombers.
CJ Perez led the Pirates with 14 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Supporting him was Cameroonian Mike Nzeusseu with 12 points and 14 rebounds, and team captain MJ Ayaay with 11 points and eight rebounds.
True enough, Lyceum dictated the pace of the game with their small-ball setup for all four quarters.
Lyceum’s tight defense and backcourt pressure did not let the Heavy Bombers get a taste of the lead in the wire-to-wire win.
Even though JRU were able to inch within 74-70 with four minutes and 15 seconds left in the final frame, courtesy of a Jed Mendoza layup, the Lyceum trio of Nzeusseu, Ayaay, and Jaycee Marcelino did not let the Heavy Bombers inch any closer as they were able to produce the big baskets while stopping Lyceum on the other end.
Coach Topex Robinson was delighted with his team’s performance, saying they have developed a winning culture entering the upcoming NCAA Season 93.
“We do the most [out] of what we gave, kung yung pagkapanalo, nakakasanayan, parang pagkatalo. If you get used to winning, it becomes a habit. You have to find deep inside paano manalo,” the Olongopo-native shared.
Lyceum’s splendid preseason performance is a sign that they will be better contenders in NCAA given their ongoing learning process.
“Yung finish namin it’s about the journey we’re into , it’s a result of bigger things ahead we’re looking at, hopefully we could ride that off coming in to the season,” the young mentor added.
JRU’s Ervin Grospe and MJ Dela Virgen did damage with 17 and 14 points respectively. Foreign student-athlete Abdulrazak Abdulwahab chipped in 11 points and 21 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to even tie the game.
Lead gunner Teytey Teodoro was limited to just five markers, marking his second straight game with just single digits. – By: Danine Cruz
The Scores:
LPU (82) – Perez 14, Nzeusseu 12, Ayaay 11, Marcelino JC 11, Pretta 9, Tansingco 7, Baltazar 6, Marcelino JV 5, Ibanez 3, Caduyac 3, Liwag 1, Marata 0, Cinco 0.
JRU (75) – Grospe 17, Dela Virgen 14, Abdul Wahab 11, Mendoza 8, Poutuouchi 8, Teodoro 5, Lasquety 4, Castor 3, Bordon 3, David 2, Mate 0.
Quarterscores: 17-12, 41-34, 61-55, 82-75/
