Lyceum fended off Arellano's fourth quarter comeback and eked out an 82-80 win to secure its solo second spot at the end of its first round campaign in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Pirates showed unselfish basketball and executed swift ball rotation down the stretch courtesy of Renzo Navarro's command to help the squad improve to a 7-2 record.
Behind the efforts of Navarro, Enoch Valdez, and Shawn Umali, Lyceum doused Shane Menina's late game heroics for Arellano but it was Patrick Montano who spearheaded the Pirates with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
With 48.6 seconds left, Menina fired a crucial three-pointer from the left wing en route to an 81-78 deficit, pumping life for the trailing Chiefs, who crawled back from 13 points down heading into the payoff period.
Menina, however, missed his next attempt from beyond the arc with 10 seconds left for the Chiefs which could have pushed the match to overtime.
Navarro iced the match with a split free throw in the ensuing play with 4.4 ticks to go before Axel Doromal, who paced Arellano with 21 points, missed his last-second ditch from the three-point line as Joshua Abastillas scored the last basket.
John Barba also hammered down 15 points and four rebounds for Lyceum while Mclaude Guadana posted 14 points and four rebounds on a 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
Valdez chipped in nine points and five rebounds while Umali had seven points and seven rebounds. Navarro, for his part, despite firing blanks on a 0-of-6 shooting clip, made up with eight assists and four rebounds for the Pirates.
Menina finished with 14 points and three assists while Abastillas and Cade Flores had 12 and 11 points, respectively, and hauled eight rebounds each for the Chiefs, who slipped to a 4-5 slate.
The Scores:
LPU 82 -- Montano 16, Barba 15, Guadana 14, Valdez 9, Umali 7, Bravo 7, Larupay 6, Penafiel 4, Cunanan 3, Navarro 1, Villegas 0.
ARELLANO 80 -- Doromal 21, Menina 14, Abastillas 12, Flores 11, Oftana 8, Mantua 8, Tolentino 4, Mallari 2, Oliva 0, Antonio 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 44-42, 70-58, 82-80.