Making up for a lackadaisical outing against the Mapua Cardinals last Tuesday, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates made sure to entertain the Lyceans in attendance, taking an 83-69 win against the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
This is Lyceum’s 11th straight win, keeping their record clean at 11-0. Saint Benilde, on the other hand, dropped to 2-9.
CJ Perez again filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. All-around forward MJ Ayaay added 12 points, while Perez’s fellow MVP candidate Mike Nzeusseu finished with a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks.
But even with the imposing win, Lyceum’s lead assistant coach Jeff Perlas was far from satisfied, especially with the relaxed way the Pirates played.
“Actually we were far from being satisfied kasi ang dami naming turnovers. We have to take care of the ball,” said Perlas, as Lyceum had committed 23 turnovers.
The game was already out of reach by the second quarter as the Pirates led by as much as 21 points, 43-22, after back-to-back triples by Spencer Pretta and a breakaway layup by CJ Perez.
With the game under control, the Pirates turned the game into their own playground, doing fancy plays on the offensive end. On one play, Jaycee Marcelino shook off Eric Pili with a stunning crossover, while Nzeusseu had a highlight as well with a thunderous jam.
Still, Perlas warns that the other teams are already catching up to them.
“We have to be more conservative in trapping them. Yung game plan for sure, before, bulk of their practice is naka-focus sa press break. Teams will catch up so it will be up to us to adjust to those adjustments,” said Perlas.
Edward Dixon tallied a game-high 27 points, majority of which came in garbage time. Senegalese student-athlete Clement Leutcheu finished with 13 points and 20 rebounds. However, the two combined to commit 13 of Benilde’s 34 turnovers.
Lyceum look to extend their streak to 12 when they face the Arellano Chiefs on Friday, September 15, at 12:00nn. Benilde, on the other hand, take on the Perpetual Altas on the same day at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
LPU 83 – Perez 14, Ayaay 12, Nzeusseu 10, Caduyac 9, Pretta 9, Marcelino JC 7, Baltazar 7, Marcelino JV 6, Tansingco 5, Ibanez 2, Marata 2, Cinco 0, Liwag 0, Serrano 0.
CSB 69 – Dixon 27, Leutcheu 13, Belgica 10, Domingo 6, Johnson 5, Sta. Maria 4, Castor 2, Naboa 2, Pili 0, San Juan 0.
Quarterscores: 23-10, 46-30, 66-53, 83-69.
