Adrian Alban proved that he not just a one-hit wonder.
Alban led the Lyceum of the Philippines University in a 75-58 win over the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, its sixth straight loss, Thursday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The 20 year old floor general, after going 7-for-10 in their win against the JRU Heavy Bombers, rode the wave of momentum he is on. He went 8-for-10 this time for 21 points. Harry Nzeusseu added a double-double with 15 points and 22 rebounds.
“Last game nung JRU, tinext kagad ako ni Coach Topex na huwag ako makuntento sa isang magandang laro,” Alban said about taking advantage of the opportunity given to him. “Every practice after nun, mas hinihigitan ko pa yung practice ko para magtuloytuloy yung laro ko.”
Saint Benilde suffered a double black eye in the game in the opening quarter. A minute and 30 seconds in the game, Benilde’s leading rebounder Clement Leutcheu fell awkwardly on his left knee after a crash board situation. The foreign student-athlete did not return to the game.
The Pirates held the Blazers to just seven opening quarter points and continued to punish in the next three quarters.
During the third frame, Yankee Haruna tried to will the Blazers back, scoring four points in a 6-0 spurt, to cut the lead to just seven, 46-39 with 4:38 remaining in the quarter. The rally was also highlighted by a breakaway jam by the Filipino-American that brought the Benilde faithful in attendance to its feet.
After a timeout by Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson, the Pirates regained its composure capped by eight straight points by Wilson Baltazar, including back-to-back threes, to sustain a double-digit lead.
“Prior to the game, I reminded them that Benilde’s standing is not a reflection of that team. Don’t fall into the trap that they are 0-5 and that they will easily fall down to us,” Robinson said. “I just told them to honor the game.”
The lead further grew to a game-high 20 points, 67-47, after four straight points by Nzeusseu. The Benilde offense moreover caved in, forcing themselves to contested shots, up until the final buzzer.
Lyceum shot at an efficient rate, 42.47 percent, compared to just 31.51 percent by Benilde. In addition, Lyceum shot 36 attempts from the foul stripe, converting on 21. On the other hand, Benilde only had 14 attempts.
Christian Fajarito and Yankee Haruna scored 13 markers each for Benilde.
Lyceum (2-3) will next face Topex Robinson’s former team San Sebastian on Tuesday, July 26 at 2:00pm. On the other hand, Benilde (0-6) face a tough task, facing the Perpetual Altas on the same day at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
LPU (75) – Alban 21, Nzeusseu 15, Baltazar 13, Alanes 11, Ayaay 6, Caduyac 6, Marata 1, Serafico 1, Magbuhos 1, Malabanan 0, Soliman 0, Soriano 0
CSB (58) – Fajarito 13, Haruna 13, Young 8, Dixon 8, Saavedra 6, Domingo JJ 4, San Juan 2, Pajarillaga 2, Pasamante 2, Castor 0, Domingo JS 0, Belgica 0, Leutcheu 0
Quarterscores: 17-7, 33-23, 59-45, 75-58
