By CARLO ANOLIN
JM Bravo showed poised in the extended five minutes and led Lyceum past San Sebastian, 82-79, in the NCAA Season 98 Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Bravo poured seven of his 14 points in overtime, including a three-pointer in the last minute, to help the Pirates improve to a 6-2 record.
While Bravo led the assault, Mcclaude Guadana, Enoch Valdez, and Shawn Umali joined forces defensively to turn back the Stags down the stretch.
San Sebastian led by two points only following Kenneth Villapando and Alex Desoyo’s free throws with less than two minutes left before Bravo, who also finished with six rebounds, came through with his late-game heroics en route to an 80-79 lead that eventually turned the tides in favor of Lyceum.
Valdez, who hauled seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists, had all his eyes on Romel Calahat and stopped him twice inside the paint with monster blocks before he and Guadana split their free throws to ice the game.
In that sequence, Guadana, who led Lyceum with 14 points built on four triples along with three rebounds, likewise executed a key defensive stop against Raymart Escobido and forced the rookie San Sebastian guard to yield a turnover after stepping on the line in transition with no timeouts left.
Jessie Sumoda, who fired blanks from beyond the arc midway through overtime, could have tied the game but still missed his last-second attempt as the Pirates secured the win.
Before the end of regulation, Renzo Navarro, delivering eight points and six assist, was the one who pumped life for Lyceum after a crucial three-pointer before Guadana shot one of his two free throws en route to a 73-deadlock.
The scores: LPU 82 ‒ Guadana 14, Bravo 14, Barba 11, Umali 9, Penafiel 9, Navarro 8, Valdez 7, Montano 5, Cunanan 3, Larupay 2, Aviles 0, Villegas 0.
SSC 79 ‒ Escobido 12, Desoyo 12, Calahat 9, Felebrico 9, Villapando 7, Altamirano 7, Cosari 7, Sumoda 5, Una 3, Yambing 3, Concha 3, Shanoda 2, Are 0.
Quarters: 27-29, 48-46, 61-64, 73-73, 82-79.
