Surging Pirates seek 4th win vs Generals

Jebb Bulawan of LPU try to steal the ball from John Tayongtong of EAC, at the San Juan arena. INQUIRER PHOTO/AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Given a confidence boost after a gutsy win the last time out, Lyceum seeks a third straight victory when it battles Emilio Aguinaldo College in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Gametime is 4 p.m. with the resurgent Pirates looking to move into fourth spot with another triumph.

St. Benilde tries to nail back-to-back wins at the expense of Mapua in the first game at 2 p.m.

The Blazers are hoping to ride the momentum of their 85-71 whipping of the Letran Knights that gave them their first win of the season last Monday.

“Hopefully we can build on our first win,” said Blazers coach Gabby Velasco. “It’s been a tough start but the team is sticking together.”

Velasco said they cannot look past Mapua despite its woeful 0-5 record.

“They’ve been playing better,” said Velasco, noting that Mapua absorbed narrow losses in its past two games.

Coinciding with the Blazers’ first win was Paolo Taha’s breakout game that saw the muscular guard deliver 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in his first start this season.

The Pirates have notched two straight wins, including an 84-80 overtime triumph over the Jose Rizal U Bombers last week that boosted them to joint No. 4 with the San Sebastian Stags.

Lyceum coach Bonnie Tan said the skidding Generals cannot be taken lightly.

“If you have noticed, anyone can beat anyone this season,” said Tan.

Cameroonian forward Guy Mbida has proven to be a revelation for the Pirates with his triple lifting them past the Bombers even as Joseph Gabayni, a rookie transferee from University of Santo Tomas, has provided them a solid post presence with averages of 10.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.

The Generals are coming off their worst shooting performance of the season against the San Beda Red Lions who held them to 29 percent from the field.

Still, the Generals have a strong core, led by Cameroonian center Noube Happi, who goes into the game averaging 12.7 points and the same number of rebounds.