Proving that they belong in the upper echelon of the NCAA this season, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates survived their biggest test of the season so far, taking a 96-91 win over defending champion San Beda Red Lions, Friday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“Nobody wins a championship in the second game,” Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson said as the Pirates are now on top of the table with a 2-0 record. “It’s just that teams will play us even tougher and we have to be ready for it.”
This was Lyceum’s first win against San Beda since the 89th season of the Grand Old League.
Though their offense kept the Pirates on pace with the potent Red Lions firepower, it was their defense that held San Beda down late.
With the game knotted at 89-all with 2:46 left, Lyceum shackled San Beda as the Red Lions missed their last seven field goal attempts.
“To play against a San Beda team, it needs a lot of perseverance and grit. I’m just blessed to be around players that wants to inspire a lot of people,” Robinson furthered.
On the other end, a huge basket by CJ Perez with 2:34 left sparked the Pirates. This was followed by back-to-back baskets by senior Raymar Caduyac that gave Lyceum a 95-89 lead. Free throws Javee Mocon kept San Beda alive but a split on the stripe by Jaycee Marcelino sealed the win.
Perez was all over the court once again, scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with four rebounds, an assists, a steal, and a block. Moreover, he was able to limit his errors to just two turnovers compared to seven against the JRU Heavy Bombers.
“He is going to win games for us and he is going to lose games for us but CJ always knows that his teammates will win it for us,” Robinson said about his prized recruit.
Mike Nzeusseu finished with a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Caduyac had 16 points and seven assists.
Robert Bolick paced San Beda with 21 points but was limited to just two points in the final frame. Clint Doliguez and AC Soberano finished with 19 and 12 points respectively.
“For us, we know that Bolick is going to come out with guns blazing. We know that he can score 30 but we focused on the supporting cast. Even if Soberano and Doliguez made the big shots, we were able to keep our composure,” Robinson added.
San Beda knocked down 13 triples in the game but were forced to commit 18 turnovers. Lyceum finished with seven steals compared to none for the defending champions.
Lyceum looks to make it three in a row when they face the San Sebastian Golden Stags on Friday, July 21 at 4:00pm. San Beda, on the other hand, will take on the Saint Benilde Blazers on Tuesday, July 18 at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
LPU (96) – Perez 24, Nzeusseu 18, Caduyac 16, Marcelino JC 14, Baltazar 9, Marcelino JV 7, Ayaay 4, Tansingco 2, Liwag 2, Santos 0, Ibanez 0, Pretta 0, Cinco 0.
SBC (91) – Bolick 21, Doliguez 19, Soberano 12, Mocon 10, Noah 9, Presbitero 8, Potts 4, Bahio 4, Adamos 2, Tankoua 2, Carino 0, Tongco 0, Abuda 0.
Quarterscores: 24-18, 50-46, 73-75, 96-91.
