The Tamaraws took the control from the get go and posted a 24-16 lead after the first quarter, but allowed the Pirates to stay within striking distance for the remainder of the match.
Twenty two turnovers hampered FEU from pulling away big, though Lyceum failed to capitalize on the miscues and only got 11 points out of it.
“I think we were better in sharing the ball. That’s something we want to teach our players, but there were a lot of turnovers, bad decision making,” said head coach Nash Racela.
The Tamaraws led by 15, 76-61, with 1:40 to go on a basket by Joel Lee Yu, but they allowed the Pirates to end strong with 10 points late in the game.
“Lyceum is a very tough team. Their level of physicality is something we admire and emulate,” said Racela.
While the Tamaraws are now at 4-0, the Pirates absorbed their first loss for a 2-1 card. Idle San Beda, also in the same group, is undefeated at 3-0.
Mike Tolomia led FEU with 22 points built on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown. Mac Belo added 12 points and nine rebounds while Raymar Jose had nine points and 14 boards in 15 minutes.
Cameroonian reinforcement Guy Mbida, meanwhile, finished with 15 points and 12 boards for the Pirates including a split from the stripe that trimmed the lead down to 8 early in the fourth.
But Lyceum failed to press on and allowed FEU to go on an 8-1 to seize the momentum anew.
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