Reigning champion Mapua bucked a slow start to pull off a 78-73 triumph over Lyceum to get back on the winning track in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Arena on Friday, Nov. 7.
Down by two, 67-69, Mapua’s JC Recto and Yam Concepcion came through with a triple and layup, respectively, to give the Cardinals the push they needed to create enough separation and prevail in another tight contest.
With the win, the Cardinals evened their record at 5-5 – good for second spot in Group A, while Lyceum dropped to 2-8 in the same bracket.
“Parang hindi pa rin namin na i-improve ‘yung first half namin kasi lagi kami slow start. Matatambakan kami,” said Recto.
“So ‘yun, sinabi lang ng coaches sa second half kanina na kailangan namin tumrabaho sa depensa kasi ayan ‘yung strength namin. So ‘pag hindi kami dumepensa tatambakan talaga kami ng ibang teams,” he added.
Concepcion topped Mapua’s scoring column with 15 points, while Recto listed a double-double performance of 14 and 12 rebounds. Cyrus Cuenco and Cyrus Nitura combined for 22 points.
All the Cardinals’ hands were on deck in the win with Mapua turning in 37 bench points while the Pirates only had 25.
Jonathan Daileg led the Pirates with 18 points while Renz Villegas also finished with 16 markers but to no avail.
The scores:
Mapua 78 – Concepcion 15, Recto 14, Cuenco 12, Nitura 10, Escamis 7, Gonzales 6, Sapasap 5, Lazarte 4, Callangan 3, Reyes 2, Igliane 0, Delos Reyes 0.
LPU 73 – Daileg 18, Villegas 16, Matienzo 7, Peñafiel 7, Moralejo 5, Montaño 5, Aviles 4, Barba 4, Aurigue 3, Pallingayan 2, Versoza 2, Abregana 0, Fuentes 0, Gordon 0.
Quarters: 21-28; 41-42; 61-55; 78-73.
