Lyceum gets all the good things these days.
The Pirates, who are undefeated this NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament after nine games in the first round, got a surprise of a lifetime as NBA veteran Ray Allen dropped by their team dinner on Tuesday.
Lyceum’s top gun CJ Perez shared that the whole team was shocked to meet the legendary sharpshooter, who is in the country for a couple of days.
“We’re surprised to see someone like Ray Allen go to our school. It’s a rare thing to happen for us,” he said.
In the video posted by Lyceum’s official page, the two-time NBA champion was seen shaking everyone’s hands before asking, “I heard you guys were in first place?”
Allen preached the value of practice to the team in his five-minute impromptu speech, instilling to the young Pirates that the pain comes before the pleasure while encouraging them to continue working hard as they prepare for the bigger wars ahead.
“It’s hard when you’re at the top, right? Because you have to work extra hard,” said Allen. “One of the things that I’ve always prided myself on, in my whole career, is execution. Now you have to work harder because you can’t sneak up on anybody anymore.”
“Now, the teams you’re supposed to beat are going to play you extra tough, like you’re the world champions. Now, you have to not get tired of the process. You don’t win a championship the day they give you the trophy. You win a championship every morning you wake up at six. That’s where the reward comes.”
Perez said he was honored to meet someone like Allen, who has won two titles in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
“We’re all starstruck and we’re very happy because he told us what we need to do, which is to continue preparing hard because we’re the number one team and the other teams are already going after us,” he said.
