Lyceum stops SSC; JRU, Letran win
Games Tuesday (The Arena, San Juan City) 12 noon – Perpetual vs San Beda (Jrs) 2 p.m. – Perpetual vs San Beda (Srs) 4 p.m. – St. Benilde vs JRU (Srs) 6 p.m. – St. Benilde vs JRU (Jrs)
Top gun Jaymar Perez played at his usual best while Jaycee Marcelino came through with a clutch three-point play in the stretch as Lyceum survived host San Sebastian last night, 78-73, to sustain its invincible form in the 93rd NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The 6-foot-1 Perez tallied a careerbest of 28 points on top of 10 re- bounds and four steals while the lefty Marcelino added 11 points, including a lay-up against defender RK Ilagan in transition that practically sealed the deal with 19.1 seconds remaining.
“Again, I really don’t know how these guys keep on fighting through the pressure and the adversity. Credit goes to the players because they really are the ones making my job easy,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson as the Final Four-bound Pirates extended their winning streak to 15.
Earlier, Jose Rizal University stifled Perpetual Help early on and cruised to a 85-52 victory to boost its Final Four drive.
Mark dela Virgen showed the way with 18 points and eight assists, matching the Altas’ entire output, while Cameroon big man Adboul Poutouochi had 16 points and four other Heavy Bombers, including top gunner Teytey Teodoro, scored at least eight each.
Veteran forward Bong Quinto sizzled with a career-best of 27 points as Letran compounded the woes of reeling Emilio Aguinaldo College, 84-78.
The Knights, who also got 19 points and nine rebounds from Rey Nambatac, bounced back from a sorry a 31-point beating dealt by the Golden Stags last Tuesday and jacked up their record to 8-7, good for solo fourth. First Game JRU 85 – Dela Virgen 18, Poutouochi 16, Mendoza 12, Grospe 8, David 8, Teodoro 8, Lasquety 6, Abdul Razak 5, Bordon 2, Mariano 2, Mate 0, Pontejos 0, Sibangan 0, Sawat 0.
PERPETUAL 52 – Eze 23, Pido 8, Sadiwa 8, Tamayo 3, Mangalino 3, Hao 3, Coronel 2, Ylagan 2, Dagangon 0, Casas
0, Clemente 0, Singontiko 0, Yuhico 0, Lucente 0.
Quarters: 17-5, 39-15, 64-39, 85-52. Second Game
LETRAN 84 – Quinto 27, Nambatac 19, Calvo 16, Balanza 8, Gedaria 5, Vacaro 4, Balagasay 2, Taladua 2, Mandreza 1, Bernabe 0.
EAC 78 – Onwubere 25, Munsayac 15, Bautista 10, Diego 10, Garcia 6, Bugarin 6, Mendoza I 2, Tampoc 2, Mendoza J 2, Pascua 0, Corilla 0, Neri 0.
Quarters: 23-15, 50-34, 72-58, 84-78. Third Game LYCEUM 78 – Perez 28, Ayaay 11, Marcelino JC 11, Nzeusseu 11, Pretta 6, Marcelino JV 5, Ibanez 3, Srrano 2, Caduyac 1, Cinco 0, Baltazar 0, Tansingco 0. SAN SEBASTIAN 73 – Bulanadi 19, Calisaan 13, David 9, Navarro 9, Ilagan 9, Costelo 6, Baetiong 4, Baytan 3, Mercado 1, Calma 0, Are 0, Valdez 0. Quarters: 18-7, 33-27, 52-49, 78-73.