Eleven days ago, the Lyceum Pirates cruised past neighbor Mapua Cardinals, 97-74, in their first round encounter. But that beatdown could have brought the Pirates’ guards down as they managed to do just enough to defeat the undermanned Cardinals, 96-90, Tuesday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“Again Mapua is a good team. The fact that [Andrew] Estrella wasn’t there… If he was there it would’ve been a different story,” said third-year Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson. “Credit to coach Atoy [Co] for preparing his team well.”
The win extended Lyceum’s best-ever start to 10-0, while Mapua dropped to 1-9.
But beyond the pleasantries, Robinson lamented the way the league-leaders had played against the bottom team of the league, allowing Mapua to shoot 44 percent from the field — a high clip against Lyceum’s usually suffocating defense.
“We didn’t play our usual game, we didn’t honor the game,” lamented Robinson. “That’s been the challenge to us. If we want to stay on top, there’s a lot of responsibilities that come with it. Hopefully, this will be a wake up call to us that any team can beat us if we let our guards down.”
As what has been the norm for the Pirates, the points and the minutes were spread out with CJ Perez topping Lyceum with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Jaycee Marcelino added 19 points while MJ Ayaay and Ralph Tansingco chipped in 10 markers each.
But after leading by as much as 17 points during the third frame, the Pirates willingly settled with exchanging baskets with the Cardinals. The troika of Laurenz Victoria, Leo Gabo, and JP Nieles gladly obliged, cutting the lead down to as low as six points, making the final scoreline respectable.
“Tulad ng sabi ni coach, yung other teams nakaka-catch up na sa amin,” added Perez.
According to Robinson, both he and the Pirates need to remain wary at all costs, as it will only get tougher from here.
“It’s always uncharted territory. A lot of new experiences like this game. From here on, it’s just going to be tough,” Robinson said.
Mapua senior Leo Gabo led Mapua with 21 points and five assists. Christian Bunag finished with a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Lyceum will next face the Saint Benilde Blazers on Friday, September 8, at 2:00pm. Mapua, on the other hand, take on the defending champions San Beda Red Lions on the same day at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
LPU 96 – Perez 22, Jc. Marcelino 19, Ayaay 10, Tansingco 10, Caduyac 8, Pretta 8, Jv. Marcelino 6, Liwag 5, Nzeusseu 5, Marata 3, Baltazar 0, Cinco 0, Ibañez 0, Santos 0.
MU 90 – Gabo 21, Buñag 18, Victoria 16, Aguirre 11, Nieles 9, Orquina 7, Pelayo 6, Raflores 2.
Quarterscores: 20-21, 48-43, 73-58, 96-90.
