Enoch Valdez starred late in the game as he helped Lyceum of the Philippines University eke out an 82-77 comeback victory over University of Perpetual Help System DALTA in NCAA Season 98 on Wednesday.
Valdez scored nine of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Pirates outscored the ALTAs by 12 points, 26-14, in the pivotal period to come away with the win.
Mclaude Guadaña added 12 points while Shawn Umali posted 10 points and eight rebounds for LPU, which stretched its winning streak to four games and improved to 4-1 while Perpetual dropped to 2-3.
Trailing by seven to open the fourth, Lyceum unleashed a 13-7 rampage led by Valdez as they closed the gap to one, 70-69.
A steal and a drive to the basket by their big man Umali then gave Lyceum its first taste of the lead, 71-70, with 3:55 left.
Although the ALTAs managed to keep pace with the Pirates after John Abis knocked down a basket that made it a 78-76 deficit, LPU still prevailed in the endgame.
The combo of Jielo Razon and Kim Aurin joined forces in the first half as they poured in 13 and 10 points each early to steer the ALTAs to a 44-35 lead over the Pirates.
Guadaña, meanwhile, led Lyceum with his 10 markers as well but those were not enough as his side trailed all the way in the first half, which ended with Aurin's buzzer-beater triple.
The Pirates made a third quarter rally, pulling to within six, 55-49, with rookie Gyle Montaño sinking two charities. But Perpetual was quick to adjust to retake a double-digit spread, 59-49, before heading to the fourth carrying a 63-56 cushion.
Razon finished with a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists while Aurin scored 16, but turned the ball over seven times.
Perpetual returns on Saturday against San Sebastian College-Recoletos while Lyceum takes on Colegio de San Juan de Letran on Sunday.
The scores:
Lyceum 82 - Valdez 13, Guadaña 12, Umali 10, Navarro 9, Cunanan 9, Peñafiel 9, Barba 7, Montaño 5, Bravo 4, Larupay 2, Vinoya 2, Villagas 0.
Perpetual 77 - Razon 18, Aurin 16, Abis 11, Nitura 8, Omega 8, Martel 6, Egan 5, Flores 2, Boral 2, Barcuma 1, Cuevas 0, Orgo 0, Roque 0, Nuñez 0.
Quarters: 13-20, 35-44, 56-63, 82-77.
—JMB, GMA News
