Lyceum faces ‘harder, but sweeter’ road to NCAA finals

Lyceum didn’t end the NCAA Season 94 men’s basketball tournament elimination round the way head coach Topex Robinson wanted it to be.

The Pirates again yielded to defending champion San Beda,  75-68, in their last game before their Final Four battle.

Robinson, however, believes they will be better for it as they enter their first semifinal round in the NCAA.

“It’s going to be harder, but it will be sweeter,” said Robinson Thursday at Filoil Flying V Center. “Every adversity that we went through bonds us together and that’s the way I look at things.”

Although Lyceum lost in two games against the Red Lions in the finals of Season 93, the Pirates finished with a perfect 18-0 after last year’s elimination round earning them an automatic berth to the finals.

Lyceum had a different fate in 2018 after finishing with a 15-3 record for the second seed and setting up a semifinal matchup against Letran.

“It’s going to be hard and tough, but we will hold on to the lessons we’ve learned in our loss to San Beda,” said Robinson. “At this point of the season, it’s about making sure we’re in this together.”

“We have to make sure that we’re mentally tough, make the players know that we’ve got their backs and that we will take care of them.”