FilOil: Southwestern U notches first win at Lyceum's expense

(Updated 3:48pm) After four failed tries, the reigning CESAFI champions Southwestern University Cobras finally scored a win in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Cup, spoiling the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates' tourney debut with a 74-64 win, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

The Cobras now hold a 1-4 card in a nine-game elimination round after staining the Pirates' record in Group B play. They will next square off against the Letran Knights (0-1) on Friday, while Lyceum also plays the ADMU Blue Eagles on the same date.

"We were able to break their trap, which has been our problem for our past games. Buti naman na-solve namin today," said Southwestern U head coach Yayoy Alcoseba.

"This win will be important for our campaign in CESAFI because maliliit ang mga teams and they all trap."

"[The tournament] is a lot harder than I thought it'd be," said San Diego native Melvin Holper, who led the Cobras with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Holper added that apart from adjusting to the players' size, the arena drums in the collegiate scene made it more difficult to hear the plays being called.

Alcoseba admitted that the team's stint in Manila has been tough, but he chooses to focus on the positives like defensive improvements and how his team has cut down on turnovers. "The important thing is we're learning, that's the main reason we're here," finished Alcoseba.

Monbert Arong and Landry Sanjo added 11 points apiece, with the latter pulling down 15 rebounds. Jaques Bautista, Mark Panerio, Fabrice Siewe and Nilton Otida chipped in six points apiece in a balanced effort for Southwestern U.

In the first quarter, the Pirates scored early in the clock before the Cobras could get set on defense. But once Southwestern U got into defensive position, Lyceum couldn't find the bottom of the net. Meanwhile Fabrice Siewe and Monbert Arong bore the Cobras' scoring load, combining for an early 7-2 lead.

Lyceum started to play more aggressively, driving to the rim and getting offensive rebounds to put the Cobras in foul trouble. The Cobras also gave up the ball against the Pirates' full-court press, as Shane Ko and John Azores spearheaded a 13-4 run for Lyceum.

Southwestern U caught up quickly in the final minute, as they too began to convert penalty free throws. Nilton Otida then made a lay-up off an errant Pirates pass before the quarter buzzer, capping five unanswered points to tie the game at 15-all.

The Cobras extended their run into the second quarter, where they set up Landry Sanjo around the rim. Southwestern U also started to click in the halfcourt set, as shooters benefited from good passing. Sanjo had eight points in a 15-2 run bringing the tally to 29-17.

Lyceum similarly tried to kick the ball out to open shooters but fired mostly blanks, as Ysser Edora connected from range with three and a half minutes to play, for only the Pirates' third field goal of the quarter. However, the Cobras played the evenly the rest of the way, to stake a 34-24 lead at halftime.

Southwestern U shot 10-of-31 from the floor (32 percent) after two periods, while Lyceum made just 10-of-42 (24 percent). The Cobras also took 22 free throws and made 11 (50 percent) against the Pirates' 2-of-9 mark (22 percent).

After the break, the Pirates took the ball inside and started forcing turnovers again, as a pair of strong drives by Dexter Zamora whittled the Cobras' lead to single digits, 42-35. However Southwestern U countered from outside, as Francis Ortega nailed a trey to spark a 7-2 run, 49-37, with three and a half minutes remaining.

Lyceum though would finish this quarter strong, forcing the Cobras into consecutive eight-second violations while capitalizing on their time at the free throw line. Shane Ko and helped forge a 10-2 rally, coming up with eight, before Mark Panerio converted a floater with 10 seconds left to preserve a 51-45 Cobras lead heading into the fourth.

The Cobras were hit by the same swarming defense in the fourth quarter, and the Pirates capitalized with five straight points to trail by a mere point. However Ko picked up his third and fourth personal fouls with a minute and a half into the final canto and had to sit.

Melvin Holper nailed his second trey to give his team some breathing room. The Cobras then slowly pulled away after forcing a few more buckets on the break, taking a 63-54 lead after a Jaques Bautista layup, with three minutes to play.

Ko checked back in and nailed a triple with under three minutes to play, but the Pirates couldn't complete stops on defense. Holper matched him with another triple and the Cobras continued to draw contact on drives, offsetting any gains Lyceum made on their end of the floor.

The Cobras wound up shooting 23-of-62 from the floor overall (37 percent) against the Pirates' lowly 19-of-76 mark (25 percent). They also led in rebounding (57-47) and posted a 15-6 second-chance points margin despite losing on the offensive glass, 19-16.

Lyceum led in turnover points, 14-8.

Shane Ko topped all scorers with 21 points and six rebounds, while Dexter Zamora added 15 points for the Pirates. - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

SWU 74 - Holper 13, Sanjo 11, Arong 11, Bautista 6, Siewe 6, Panerio 6, Otida 6, Bregondo 5, Mohammed 4, Ortega 3, Goloran 3, Pajantoy 0

LPU 64 - Ko 21, Zamora 15, Lesmoras 9, Mendoza 4, Taladua 4, Azores 3, Edora 3, Francisco 2, Evangelista 2, Soliman 1, Garcia 0, Fabian 0, Lacastesantos 0, Alanes 0, Ambohot 0

Quarter-scoring: 15-15, 24-34, 45-51, 74-64