Despite a long lay-off, the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates continued to roll, compounding the problems of arch-rivals San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags, 88-70, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
This is Lyceum’s 10th straight win – the team’s 28th straight win in the elimination round. San Sebastian dropped to 1-9, dead last in the standings.
But Pirates head coach Topex Robinson warned the Pirates that the Golden Stags’ record is deceiving, as they only suffered the majority of their losses due to forfeitures.
“Again, that’s a big win for us. Before the game, we reminded them that San Sebastian is a tenth ranked team,” Robinson shared.
“They are playing like a Final Four team. We know they are going to bring the best when they play us, especially with the history we have,” the amiable head coach added.
The Marcelino twins proved to be the catalyst in the win, with Jaycee finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Jayvee Marcelino tallying 14 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
With the Stags cutting down the Pirates’ once-14 point lead down to just five with 6:29 left, the twins – together with MJ Ayaay – made the stops to restore order. The lead would go up to as high as 18 points in the wanning moments of the game.
“They always bring a different type of energy. With that energy, they also make mistakes which is normal. But I’m excited for them,” Robinson remarked about the Marcelino Twins.
As usual, CJ Perez led the way with 21 points, nine rebounds, and five steals. Ayaay added 10 rebounds and five rebounds.
Michael Calisaan had a double-double for San Sebastian with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Allyn Bulanadi added 13 markers and nine boards.
In his return to San Sebastian after being suspended, RK Ilagan had 13 points went just 3-for-11 from the field. He was a minus-33.
Lyceum will next face the JRU Heavy Bombers on Friday, September 7. San Sebastian look to bounce back on the same day against the EAC Generals.
The Scores:
LPU 88 — Perez 21, Jc. Marcelino 17, Jv. Marcelino 14, Pretta 8, Tansingco 7, Nzeusseu 6, Ayaay 5, Valdez 4, Santos 3, Ibanez 2, Lumbao 1, Cinco 0, Yong 0.
SSC-R 70 — Calisaan 17, Bulanadi 13, Ilagan 13, Calma 10, Capobres 7, Are 4, Dela Cruz 2, Desoyo 2, Villapando 2, Arciaga 0, Isidro 0, Sumoda 0, Valdez 0.
Quarterscores: 27-13, 46-36, 65-59, 88-70.
