Letran and Lyceum, two neighbor teams inside the historic Manila’s ‘Walled City’ of Intramuros, dispute the last finals berth in the second stage of the stepladder playoffs in the NCAA Season 95 on Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Lyceum is seeking a third straight finals stint after losing twice to San Beda in the championship series the previous two years, while Letran is eyeing a return trip to the finals after winning it all in 2015.
The third seeded Knights arranged a do-or-die match against the No. 2 Pirates after a thrilling 85-80 win against the San Sebastian Stags in the first phase of the stepladder playoffs last Tuesday.
With just a two-day rest, Letran returns to action when it clashes at 4 p.m. against a well-rested Lyceum squad, which last played Oct. 17 against the defending three-time champion San Beda.
The winner of this no-tomorrow encounter between Letran and Lyceum will face the Red Lions in a best-of-three showdown starting Tuesday at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
San Beda claimed outright finals spot after an 18-0 sweep of the eliminations.
Letran mentor Bonnie Tan, who coached Lyceum during the school’s early years in the NCAA, is upbeat going to this ‘KO’ match despite Knights’ 0-2 record with the Pirates in the elimination round.
“It’s a big challenge for us as a team playing Lyceum in a do-or-die… hindi pa kami nanalo sa kanila this season,” said Tan, referring to Letran’s 84-80 defeat to Lyceum on opening day last July 7 and a 97-90 decision in the second round of the elimination last Sept. 27.
“Pero may kasabihan, may tira, may tsamba. Nandito na kami, subukan na namin.”
Letran will again rely on its depth, which allowed Tan to use his bench players like graduating center Christian Balagasay, Kurt Reyson and Allen Mina at the starting five against the Stags.
Mina had an outstanding shooting performance in that game by going 4-of-9 from three-point territory to finish with 12 points against San Sebastian, while reserve guard King Caralipio had nine points.
Five other players scored in double-digit for Letran with Jerrick Balanza’s team-high 15 points, Bonbon Batiller added 14 points, Larry Muyang had 11 points, Ato Ular and Fran Yu contributed 10 points apiece.
In their first round victory against Letran, Lyceum’s Jaycee Marcelino fired 24 points, while his twin brother Jayvee added 18 points.
In the second round, Jayvee Marcelino missed the game because of flu, but Jaycee Marcelino was in his usual deadly form and dropped 25 points, while Reymar Caduyac had 20 points, and Nzeusseu contributed 16 points with nine rebounds. (Waylon Galvez)
