Lyceum notched the twice-to-beat bonus come the Final Four after taking down College of St. Benilde, 77-64, in the NCAA Season 94 men’s basketball tournament Thursday at Filoil Flying V Center.
The Pirates improved to a 15-2 record to claim one of the top two spots and in the processed eliminated the Blazers, who dropped to an 8-8 record.
Benilde can win as much as 10 games but fourth seed University of Perpetual Help already has 11 wins after 16 matches.
Reymar Caduyac lit up for the Pirates, scoring six points in the last two minutes and effectively took the fight out of the Blazers.
Lyceum showed no remorse on Benilde in the final minutes, forcing the Blazers to three straight turnovers off a timeout with Caduyac capping off a 7-0 Pirate run with a layup that came off a steal from Justin Gutang for the 75-62 lead with 1:08 left.
Despite Caduyac’s performance, Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson still poked fun at his point guard.
“I call him Speedy Bagal (slow) because what he lacks in physical ability in speed he makes up for it with smarts,” said Robinson. “The things he does in games, I don’t see it in practice. He’s always full of surprises. It’s a blessing to have somebody like him.”
CJ Perez led all scorers with 17 points with 10 rebounds, and four steals for the Pirates while Mike Nzeusseu had 13 points and eight boards.
Caduyac finished with 10 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Justin Gutang had 13 points and seven boards for the Blazers.