By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Games Saturday
(Cuneta Astrodome)
11 a.m. – Arellano vs Mapua
2:30 p.m. – SSCR vs San Beda
Lyceum shackled College of St. Benilde with its stifling defense in the waning seconds to eke out a pulsating 82-81 victory and complete the Final Four cast in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Friday, Nov. 15.
Leading by a hairline with 5.3 seconds to go, Vincent Cunanan put up a crucial defensive stop on Gab Cometa’s jumper that could have given the Blazers the lead.
St. Benilde had another chance to steal the win with 0.7 ticks remaining, but Allen Liwag’s game-winning alley-oop off an inbound pass from Winston Ynot barely touched the rim.
With the victory, Lyceum caught the last semis bus by finishing the eliminations with a 10-8 record to join with St. Benilde, Mapua and defending champion San Beda.
The Blazers, for their part, slipped to second with a 14-4 card, but could still get the No. 1 seeding if the Cardinals lose to the Arellano Chiefs on Saturday, Nov. 16.
“It was a good win. I’m speechless. Proud and happy ako sa mga players and coaching staff ko in this game,” said Lyceum coach Gilbert Malabanan, whose team crawled back from a 6-8 win-loss tally before notching four straight wins for their third consecutive Final Four appearance.
“Sabi ko tyagain lang namin. Konting sacrifice pa, and nagawa naman nila,” he added.
John Barba was splendid throughout, carrying the team by erupting for 27 points on a perfect 9-of-9 clip from the field and three steals.
JM Bravo was equally impressive, contributing 12 points and eight boards, even as Renz Villegas, Mclaude Guadaña and Jonathan Daileg chipped in 11 points each.
Lyceum stepped on the gas early and led 26-17 in the opening quarter before ripping the game wide open with a 39-23 lead before halftime.
But St. Benilde remained unfazed, slowly grabbing the momentum including in the payoff period where it cut their 10-point deficit, 74-64, to only one, 80-79, off a Cometa triple with 51.2 seconds left.
The Pirates, however, held their advantage for dear life until the final buzzer.
Liwag erupted with a double-double effort of 20 points and 16 rebounds, even as Ancheta and Justine Sanchez added 18 and 11 points in a losing cause for the Blazers.
The scores:
LYCEUM 82 – Barba 27, Bravo 12, Villegas 11, Guadaña 11, Daileg 11, versoza 4, Aviles 4, Montaño 2, Cunanan 0, Panelo 0.
ST. BENILDE 81 – Liwag 20, Ancheta 18, Sanchez 11, Cometa 9, Ynot 7, Sangco 6, Morales 4, Torres 3, Jarque 2, Eusebio 1, Oli 0, Ondoa 0, Cajucom 0.
Quarters: 26-17; 46-42; 65-62; 82-81.
