Down by as much as 14 points in the final frame, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates made a furious end-game rally to buck a huge challenge by Kent Salado and the Arellano University Chiefs and save their streak, 94-92, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“Again Arellano is the better team but we just kept on playing and grinding it out with them. Credit goes to coach Jerry [Codinera] and the rest of Arellano,” said Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson.
And the league-leaders had to rally back without CJ Perez, who was limited to just 14 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes after fouling out with two minutes remaining.
“The reminder here is this is not CJ’s team. No, it’s all of us. We love CJ on the team but CJ knows also that we [can] win without him. He’s also an important part of us. It’s a collective effort,” admitted Robinson.
Down 13 points, 87-74, with 4:15 remaining, the Pirates went on a 14-0 run sparked by a triple by MJ Ayaay. Arellano were clearly rattled when Lyceum tightened up their press, committing back-to-back turnovers off inbound passes to cap the run with free throws from Jaycee Marcelino and a basket by Perez.
“Coming into the game what we’ve shared with them is about bond and connection. That’s gonna solidify our campaign going through shared adversity,” added Robinson. “It’s really important we stick it out together and hoping we’re gonna come out winners.”
Arellano were able to take back the lead after Perez made a clumsy foul on Rence Alcoriza, that led to free throws and a pinpoint find by Salado to Alcoriza later on with 1:30 left.
But the Pirates were not to be denied, as free throws by Ayaay knotted things up with 1:18 left. On the defensive end, a huge swat by Jayvee Marcelino on Salado led to a basket by Ayaay with 7.4 ticks left, while a split on the stripe by Salado doomed Arellano and completed Lyceum’s hijack.
“I just told them that I really trust them,” disclosed Robinson. “As long as you know you played your best basketball, it might not guarantee a win, but as long as you slug it out and there’s grit, siguro yung breaks lang napunta samin in the end it’s a good learning experience for us.”
Ayaay and Mike Nzeusseu powered Lyceum with double-doubles as the utility forward finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while the foreign student-athlete added 17 points and 11 boards. Reymar Caduyac added 15 markers.
Salado paced Arellano with 24 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, while Lervin Flores’ efficient outing of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks was completely wasted.
Lyceum look to extend their streak to 13 when they take on the Perpetual Altas on Thursday, September 21, at 2:00pm. Arellano, on the other hand, face the Letran Knights on Tuesday, September 19, at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
LPU 94 – Ayaay 20, Nzeusseu 17, Caduyac 15, Perez 14, Marcelino JC 13, Baltazar 7, Santos 4, Marcelino JV 2, Ibanez 2, Tansingco 0, Pretta 0, Liwag 0, Serrano 0, Marata 0.
AU 92 – Salado 24, Flores 15, Abanes 12, Nicholls 11, Enriquez 8, Alcoriza 7, Dela Cruz 6, Villoria 4, Taywan 3, Concepcion 2, Canete 0, Meca 0, Filart 0.
Quarterscores: 26-23, 44-47, 57-70, 94-92
