By: Miguel Caramoan
Joshua Moralejo and Gyle Montano teamed up as the Lyceum of the Philippines University pulled off an upset 78-66 victory over San Beda University in the NCAA Season 101 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams until the Pirates broke away late in the second quarter with a 7-0 run to seize a 36-31 advantage.
John Barba contributed five points during that stretch, while Montano led the charge with 10 first-half points.
In the second half, the Pirates maintained their momentum, highlighted by a Moralejo basket that extended their lead to double digits, 58-48, late in the third quarter.
“It’s good to be back on the winning track, and siyempre I give credit to my players because they really wanted to win this game. Gusto talaga nila mag-bounce back sa mga losses before. Hopefully, ito na yung start ng peak ng team namin,” said LPU head coach Gilbert Malabanan about their big win over Group B leader San Beda.
Montano finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists, 10 of which came in the opening half.
But it was Moralejo’s second-half explosion that made the difference, as he poured in all of his 24 points in the last two quarters on an impressive 8-of-11 shooting clip.
He also drained two dagger triples and a mid-range jumper to ice the game at 78-64 with 1:21 remaining.
“Sinabi ni Coach na take charge na ako as a point guard, kailangan ko mag-diskarte at gumawa ng way. Hindi ko rin akalain na papasok yung mga tira eh,” said Moralejo on his standout performance.
With this win, the Pirates forged a tie with San Sebastian for the fourth spot in Group A at 2-7 as they wrapped up their crossover assignments. LPU survived despite quiet outings from Barba and Renz Villegas, who scored 10 and two points, respectively.
The Pirates’ hot shooting from beyond the arc proved to be the difference, converting 53.8% of their three-point attempts, which helped them overcome San Beda’s superior overall field goal percentage.
“Sa halftime sinigaw ko sa kanila na finish strong – that’s the two words I told my players sa dugout kasi walang nananalo sa first half. We’ve been there na ilang beses na nanalo kami sa first half and nahahabol sa second half. And in this game, we finished strong,” Malabanan said, recalling how his team stayed composed in the second half to secure the victory.
LPU will face the Mapua Cardinals on Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Meanwhile, it was the second straight defeat for the Red Lions, who now share the top spot in Group B with the Benilde Blazers at 6-3.
Janti Miller still delivered an efficient performance with 22 points and six rebounds on 57.1% shooting, while Bismarck Lina added 12 points for San Beda.
The Red Lions will take on the Blazers on Friday at the same venue in San Juan.
The Scores:
Lyceum 78 – Moralejo 24, Montano 15, Barba 10, Aviles 6, Gordon 6, Penafiel 5, Versoza 4, Daileg 3, Aurigue 3, Villegas 2, Casino 0, Pallingayan 0, Matienzo 0, Fuentes 0
San Beda 66 – Miller 22, Lina 12, Andrada 6, Etulle 6, Vailoces 6, Sajonia 5, Gonzales 4, Reyes 2, Celzo 1, Jalbuena 1, Estacio 0, Culdora 0, Bonzalida 0
Quarterscores: 17-18, 36-31, 58-51, 78-66
