In a surprise, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates needed to gut it out against the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, eking out a 82-74 win to keep their slate clean, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Pirates are now 11-0 in the NCAA Season 94 Seniors Basketball Tournament, racking up their 29th straight win in elimination round games. The Heavy Bombers dropped to 2-9.
But the Heavy Bombers gave it all they’ve got that drew praise from Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson.
“Again, JRU played well as expected. But we found a way to get back. In the third quarter, they were hitting their shots – even their big man was shooting from deep,” shared Robinson.
Midway through the final frame, the Heavy Bombers were up 68-64 after a split on the stripe by MJ Dela Virgen.
“Well, we committed a lot of turnovers. We forced them to twenty but we committed seventeen. Sometimes, you’re gonna have your bad days but we’ll still take this win. This is part of the challenge for us,” rued the amiable tactician.
Not wanting to fall prey to a monumental upset, CJ Perez took it upon himself to rally Lyceum back.
“Siyempre, yung effort nandun. Kasi kung ibababa ko yung laro ko, sasama yung teammates ko. Kailangan namin i-push yung isa’t isa at bigay yung best namin,” said the reigning NCAA Most Valuable Player.
With Perez providing the spark, the Pirates closed out the contest strong with a 13-0 run. Moreover, they stifled JRU in the endgame.
Perez finished with MVP-like numbers of 30 points, 16 rebounds, and three steals. His scoring outing was one shy of his career-high.
Mike Nzeusseu added 14 points and eight rebounds, while MJ Ayaay chipped in 12 points and seven boards.
Jaycee Marcelino missed the game.
“Jaycee is someone who could attack the defense. But it’s also an opportunity for the others to step up. Yun lang naman yung nangyayari. You can’t just put it on Jaycee,” said Robinson.
Dela Virgen led JRU’s gallant stand with 18 markers. Darius Estrella and Jed Mendoza had 15 and 14 points respectively. Jun Silvarez gobbled down 18 boards.
Lyceum will look to take their 30th straight win when they face the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals on Thursday, September 13. JRU, on the other hand, take on the Mapua Cardinals on the same day.
The Scores:
LPU 82 – Perez 30, Nzeusseu 14, Ayaay 12, Caduyac 9, Tansingco 5, Ibanez 4, Serrano 4, Marcelino JV 2, Yong 2, Santos 0, Pretta 0, Cinco 0
JRU 74 – Dela Virgen 18, Estrella 15, Mendoza 14, Mallari 11, Silvarez 6, Ramos 6, Esguerra 4, Padua 0, Miranda 0
Quarterscores: 18-19, 37-36, 56-58, 82-74
