Pirates, Red Lions quash foes

Lyceum and San Beda continued their footrace to another title duel, with the Pirates keeping a step ahead of the defending champions Red Lions.

CJ Perez unleashed another late-game specialty as Lyceum thwarted Jose Rizal, 82-74, Friday night to stay unbeaten in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

“JRU played well, but we found a way to get back,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson.

That trail was blazed by Perez, who scored seven of his 30 points in a 25-6 run to close the game as the Pirates dug themselves out of a five-point hole and pushed their undefeated run into an 11th straight victory.

But the spotless record wasn’t enough to peel away from San Beda, which kept Lyceum within reach by destroying Mapua, 80-55, behind Donald Tankoua’s 24 points and eight boards

The Red Lions logged their 10th win in 11 outings while dropping the Cardinals to a dismal 2-8 slate.

In the third game, San Sebastian outlasted Emilio Aguinaldo, 78-67, to finally have a reason to smile.

RK Ilagan unloaded a game-high 16 points as the Stags upped its record to 2-9.

EAC dropped to 2-8.

The Bombers looked ripe for an upset, backing the Pirates to a 63-68 corner with less than seven minutes to go.

But Perez, who also had 16 rebounds, took over and flushed JRU to a 2-9 record.