Lyceum of the Philippines University bounced back from its tough debut.
And the Pirates caught a big fish.
Lyceum shocked one of this season’s title-favorites Mapua University in a convincing 76-67 fashion.
For second-year Lyceum head coach Gilbert Malabanan, this victory is big for his program.
“Actually it’s a very very big win for us,” said Malabanan after getting their first win of the season against last season’s second placers. “Everybody knows naman that Mapua is a strong team, they are one of the contenders last year.
“Yun lang, sabi ko lang sa players namin na we have to follow the system, we have to play aggressively offensively and defensively. Nakita ko naman sa kanilan nung naglaro kami na defensively sinunod yung system namin, naging organized sila, naging disciplined sila and we got that win,” he continued.
“Of course, dun sa offense namin I liked the way my team ran our offense, unlike sa CSB. Siguro may first game jitters pa eh. I got mad at it nga e kasi sabi ko this is not what we are. ‘Hindi tayo to, hindi tayo to’. Good bounce back for us this second game.”
It was a much better outing for Lyceum who collapsed in its last game against St. Benilde.
The Pirates were able to keep it close in the first 30 minutes of the ball game. They eventually as the Balzers dropped 28 on them in the fourth, absorbing a tough 86-69 defeat.
This time, Lyceum took pride in their fast-paced style of play to overwhelm the Cardinals in transition all throughout the contest.
“Last season, that’s ano naman e, ayun yung number one offense namin, the transition and fast break points. Kumbaga dun kami nakilala ang LPU and until now talagang yung talaga ng pinapangalagaan naming pangalan,” said Malabanan who is the mastermind of Lyceum’s 24 fast break points.
“Sabi ko rin sa kanila ayun yung mga nawala samin nung first game eh. And yun nga sabi ko sa kanila ang priority namin is to run the fastbreak and ang ganda naman nung run ng mga players ko.”
Another test coming ahead for Lyceum as they are set to face a hot shooting San Beda University this coming Saturday at 3 PM.
