Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Lyceum weathered a tough stand from Letran and pulled off a 75-68 victory Friday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Pirates, who played without coach Topex Robinson who was serving a one-game suspension, rallied behind Mike Nzeusseu in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback from 17 points down.
Nzeusseu fired eight of his 13 points in the payoff period, where the Pirates used a 10-2 run to turn things around and get the lead, 63-62, on amazing reverse from Marcelino with 5:41 left.
READ: Letran coach warns Lyceum: ‘We will destroy whoever gets in our way’
The Cameroonian also had 15 rebounds and three blocks to help keep Lyceum’s unbeaten record through eight games.
CJ Perez tallied a team-high 14 markers and five boards, as he bucked a forgettable 6-of-19 clip from the field and drained the huge three with 3:30 to play to give Pirates some separation down the stretch.
Jaycee Marcelino added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Reymar Caduyac was steady from the charity stripe, drilling all of his 12 markers from the free throw line.
Lyceum faced its biggest deficit of the season as it trailed by 37-20, midway in the second quarter.
But the Pirates soon after buckled down to work with Nzeusseu punishing the depleted Knights frontline, who was without the injured Jeo Ambohot and foul troubled Daryl Pascual and Irvin Mandreza.
Lyceum snapped Letran’s four-game winning run and got a shot at a first round sweep with a win against Mapua on Tuesday.
Rey Nambatac topped the Knights with 16 points and six rebounds, while JP Calvo had 11 markers, four boards, and two assists in the loss, as they finished the first round with a 5-4 card.
The Scores:
LYCEUM 75 – Perez 14, Nzeusseu 13, Jc. Marcelino 13, Caduyac 12, Ayaay 7, Baltazar 5, Jv. Marcelino 4, Ibanez 4, Tansingco 2, Pretta 1, Marata 0.
LETRAN 68 – Nambatac 16, Calvo 11, Quinto 10, Balanza 8, Balagasay 6, Mandreza 6, Taladua 5, Caralipio 4, Pascual 2, Gedaria 0, Vacaro 0, Bernabe 0.
Quarters: 18-26, 35-44, 53-59, 75-68.