Pirates show character in come-from-behind win

Lyceum’s Enoch Valdez soars for a layup against the Arellano Chiefs. –NCAA Photo5

More than winning a fifth straight game, Gilbert Malabanan of Lyceum liked what he saw after his Pirates needed to walk the tightrope on this one.

“I think this one showed our character,” Malabanan said after his Pirates rallied from 24 points down to claim an 89-77 win over Arellano and stay in the NCAA Season 99 men’s basketball tournament lead at San Juan Arena on Friday.

“[For me] that’s No. 1. We didn’t give up until the final buzzer and that’s the good thing,” he went on. “Everyone, even if the deficit was big, never gave up.”

Malabanan was particularly proud of how his team got together when the chips were truly down. He knows that character will serve them well when they go up against the big guns later in the first round.

“At first, they were hesitant to shoot and create with their decision making but when overtime came, they got their rhythm and that’s the good thing.”

The Pirates trailed, 48-29, at the half, before flipping the switch as they limited the Chiefs to only nine points in the third quarter to make a game out of it.

Mclaude Guadaña capped off the comeback run in regulation with a steal and a triple to tie the game at 75 with 14.5 left.

With their confidence at a high after that, it was a different Lyceum side that showed up.

“Good thing is, all of us were engaged and on one page and got the win, which we really worked hard for,” said captain Enoch Valdez, who finished with game highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds.

Lorenz Capulong had 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Danielle Mallari finished with 11 points in the defeat, the Chiefs’ fourth straight.