Pirates trip Knights, near sweep

Lyceum of the Philippines University battled back from eight points down in the last five minutes as the Pirates frustrated the Letran Knights, 87-82, and moved within a win of sweeping the first round elims of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan last night.

The Pirates blew an eightpoint lead at the half (47-39) and fell by eight heading to the fourth (58-64) and until the last five-minute mark of the contest (70-78) but came through with clutch plays that anchored their scorching 17-4 closing run for their eighth straight victory.

The come-from-behind win likewise boosted Lyceum’s bid when the Pirates go for the sweep against the San Beda Lions in what many believe as a preview to this year’s championship. The Knights dropped to fifth with a 4-3 card. Earlier, College of St. Benilde went to FilAms Justin Gutang and Yankie Haruna in the absence of suspended Clement Leutcheu as it trounced Arellano U, 70-62, to seize solo fourth at 5-3.

The Gutang-Haruna pair combined for 24 points and 16 rebounds as they more than made up for the absence of Leutcheu, who was sacked for one game for incurring two technical fouls in their recent win over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals.

Leutcheu averaged 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and a block. The Chiefs fell to 3-4. In the second game, Jose Rizal U slowed down Hamadou Laminou as it eked out a 57-55 win over EAC. The Bombers caught up with the Generals at 2-6.

Laminou was held to just 10 points, seven boards and a block after coming into the game norming 16 points, 10.3 caroms and 2.7 blocks a game. The scores: First Game St. Benilde 70 – Gutang 15, Carlos 11, Haruna 9, Belgica 8, Domingo 8, Dixon 6, Naboa 6, Young 5, Pasturan 2, Barnes 0, Nayve 0, Velasco 0

Arellano U 62 – Alcoriza 14, Sera Josef 11, Villoria 9, Canete 9, Alban 6, Segura 3, Codinera 3, Concepcion 2, Ongolo Ongolo 2, Santos 2, Sacramento 1, Dela Cruz 0, Bayla 0, Dela Torre 0 Quarterscores: 16-11, 32-27, 51-46, 70-62 Second Game JRU 57 – Mendoza 18, Mallari 12, Esguerra 8, Silvarez 8, Miranda 7, Padua 2, Santos 2, Bordon 0, Doromal 0

EAC 55 – Garcia 19, Laminou 10, Diego 6, Bautista 6, Maguliano 4, Gonzales 4, Bugarin 4, Natividad 2, Cadua 0, Mendoza 0, Neri 0, Tampoc 0, Robin 0 Quarterscores: 20-6, 28-23, 47-38, 57-55 Third Game LPU 87 – Ayaay 20, Nzeusseu 16, Perez 16, Marcelino JC 10, Santos 9, Marcelino JV 7, Caduyac 6, Tansingco 2, Yong 1, Ibanez 0, Serrano 0, Pretta 0, Cinco 0, Valdez 0

Letran 82 – Calvo 18, Quinto 13, Muyang 13, Fajarito 12, Ambohot 10, Batiller 10, Balanza 4, Yu 2, Taladua 0, Mandrez 0, Balagasay 0, Agbong 0, Celis 0

Quarterscores: 25-26, 47-39, 58-64, 87-82