Lyceum averted a fourth quarter meltdown to eke out a 74-67 win against Emilio Aguinaldo College in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
With the Pirates staring at victory after holding on with the momentum in the payoff period, the Generals tried to play spoiler and slowly crawled back with five minutes left.
Lyceum earlier torched EAC with its torrid shooting from beyond the arc, unloading a 10-2 run en route to a 15-point lead, 73-58, with Mcclaude Guadana leading the pack.
But the Generals responded with a 7-0 spurt capped by a split free throw from JC Luciano to cut their deficit down to six, 73-67.
The Pirates, however, kept them at bay in the waning moments to take their third win in four outings.
Guadana led Lyceum's balanced attack with 12 points, firing 4-of-7 from the field.
"I want to give some players naman the opportunity kasi not feeling well din kasi 'yong ibang players ko so I gave an opportunity naman sa ibang players," said Lyceum head coach Gilbert Malabanan.
"'Yong lang masasabi ko sa kanila, 'yong opportunities minsan lang nabibigay 'yan. 'Pag binigay sa inyo 'yan, grab it. You have to give your best."
Alvin Penafiel also scored 12 points, Enzo Navarro added 10 points, while John Barba chipped in nine points and six rebounds.
Allen Liwag paced the Generals, who remained winless in four games, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, Nat Cosejo posted 15 points and seven rebounds, and JC Luciano had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scores:
LPU 74 -- Guadana 12, Penafiel 12, Navarro 10, Barba 9, Montano 8, Bravo 6, Valdez 4, Villegas 4, Cunanan 3, Omandac 3, Umali 2, Larupay 1, Aviles 0.
EAC 67 -- Liwag 18, Cosejo 15, Luciano 11, Ad. Doria 8, Robin 4, Quinal 3, An. Doria 3, Cosa 2, Dominguez 2, Bajon 1, Gurtiza 0, Tolentino 0, Balowa 0.
Quarters: 12-12, 34-35, 57-49, 74-67.