San Sebastian guard Jamil Ortuoste walks with his head down after his Stags lost to the Lyceum Pirates Friday at the Arena in San Juan. Ortuoste was a former player of Topex Robinson, who now coaches the Pirates. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Lyceum kept San Sebastian scoreless in the final four and a half minutes to escape with a 71-67 victory Friday in the NCAA Season 91 men’s basketball tournament at San Juan Arena.
Cameroonian big man Jean Nguidjol shone the brightest with a stat-sheet stuffing performance with 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks to give the Pirates its third victory.
“I guess we just didn’t give up. We were up by halftime, we fought back, and gave ourselves a chance to win,” said coach Topex Robinson.
It was a redemption of sorts for Robinson as he nailed his first win against his former team.
However, the soft-spoken coach isn’t really fond of the storyline.
“It will never change because I’m still a Stag and we just got back at them today. It’s always a homecoming when I play San Sebastian,” said Robinson, whose Pirates lost to the Stags, 77-70, in the first round earlier in the month.
Mer Ayaay led Lyceum with 16 markers and seven boards, while Jebb Bulawan got 10 points and seven rebounds.
After the Stags fired a 21-3 run to take a 67-60 lead with 4:31 remaining, the Pirates then ran away with the game, taking the lead after a Shaq Alanes three with 1:53 to go.
Nguidjol blocked a potential game-tying undergoal stab from Ryan Costelo as Ayaay and Bulawan canned important freebies down the stretch.
Costelo paced San Sebastian (3-8) with 17 points and eight assists, while Jamil Ortuoste ended up with 12 markers.
The Scores:
LYCEUM 71 – Ayaay 16, Nguidjol 15, Bulawan 10, Soliman 8, Taladua 8, Alanes 6, Baltazar 5, Mbida 3, Sunga 0, Malabanan 0, Lacastesantos 0, Lugo 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 67 – Costelo 17, Ortuoste 12, Calisaan 10, Guinto 8, Fabian 7, David 6, Pretta 3, Sibal 2, Capobres 2, Santos 0, Bulanadi 0.
Quarters: 22-9, 37-21, 57-47, 71-67.