By Kevin Estrada
Lyceum snapped their three-game losing skid at the expense of San Sebastian, 93-85, in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the FilOil-EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Pirates improved their record to 7-8 and keep their Final Four hopes alive. They currently share fifth place with Letran, and half a game behind EAC for the last playoff spot.
This much-needed victory was a relief for head coach Gilbert Malabanan, ending their unfortunate streak of close defeats.
“The three losses namin, that’s the past. Nakaraan na yun pero we have to learn from it,” he said after the game, referring to their single-digit setbacks at the hands of Arellano, Perpetual Help, and Mapua, respectively.
Renz Villegas played his best game for LPU, scoring a career-high 25 points by hitting 9/11 (82%) from the field.
Eventually, the Pirates shot 50% (31/62) of their field goals for the entire game.
John Barba added 20 markers to lead Lyceum’s second unit, which outscored Baste’s reserves, 43-30.
The Pirates ended the third period with a 10-0 run to extend the margin to 21. Villegas then fired a three-pointer to open the final quarter for the biggest lead of the game, 74-50.
Tristan Felebrico led San Sebastian with 18 points.
The scores:
LYCEUM 93 – Villegas 25, Barba 20, Peñafiel 10, Montaño 9, Guadaña 8, Panelo 6, Cunanan 4, Versoza 4, Daileg 3, Aviles 2, Moralejo 2, Caduyac 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 85 – Felebrico 18, Aguilar 14, Are 12, Escobido 12, Velasco 6, R. Gabat 5, L. Gabat 4, Pascual 4, Barroga 3, Suico 3, Lintol 2, Cruz 2, Maliwat 0, Ramilo 0, Ricio 0
Quarter scores: 16-17, 40-33, 71-50, 93-85
