Lyceum advances straight to the finals after double OT win over San Beda
By Maxine Louise Lagman
19 October 2017
Lyceum made it into an 18-0 sweep after a thrilling 107-105 double overtime win over San Beda on Thursday and secured the top seed in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Pirates now advanced to the best-of-three Finals, where they will have to face the last team standing in the semis.
“Credit goes to the players, because they just don’t want to give up. Credit also goes to the coaches that are really working extra hard on my behalf,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson. “I’m so blessed that I am surrounded with the right people. These guys, they get the credit, it’s not mine.”
Cameroonian Mike Nzeusseu made it big for Lyceum after he drilled in his freebies in the last 12.7 ticks in the game, 106-105, followed by leading MVP CJ Perez’ own free throw that sealed the win, with 1.9 left in the game.
Nzeusseu topped Lyceum with a big double-double record of 21 points and 21 rebounds, while Perez continued to lead the Pirates with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“We just told them that the more minutes that we stay on the floor, the more people we inspire,” stated Robinson.
The Pirates were 3.4 seconds away from winning the game in the overtime period, but Jaycee Marcelino was called for a foul, which led Robert Bolick to send the game to double overtime at 97-all.
Despite losing Jayvee Marcelino and Reymar Caduyac due to being fouled out, Nzeusseu and Perez teamed up to drive the Pirates to victory.
“San Beda is really a strong team and we respect them. They’re a well-coached team and they are the defending champions. We are just relying on having our heroes and the people that we honor in this game,” noted Robinson.
Jaycee Marcelino had nine points, nine rebounds and three steals, while Reymar Caduyad chipped in another nine markers, three boards and two assists in the win.
On the other hand, Donald Tankoua had a career-high double-double record of 34 points and 13 rebounds, along with two assists and two blocks, before being fouled out from the first overtime.
Bolick exploded 16 points, five assists and two rebounds, while Javee Mocon knocked down another double-double of 14 markers and 14 boards, on top of seven assists.
