FilOil: Knights scuttle Pirates in NCAA match-up

The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights continued to fortify their bid for a postseason berth in Group B, as they trounced the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates 77-72, on Friday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Pirates cut a 15-point lead to four points in the final 30 seconds of the game, but ran out of time, as Letran’s big buffer allowed them to go home with the W.

“This will happen in the NCAA”, said Coach Caloy Garcia, talking about pressure situations. “It’s a good challenge for them. Pinabayaan ko na si [McJour] Luib kasi he has to learn in these kinds of situations”.

“Si Coach pag nagkakaturnover na, chinachallenge niya kami,” said sophomore guard McJour Luib. “Kung open, take the shot”.

The Knights stop a two-game slide, momentarily getting a foothold of the number four spot in Group B with a 4-3 record, while the Pirates keep spiraling downward with a winless 0-4 card.

Coach Caloy Garcia started Franz Dysam, McJour Luib, Jamil Gabawan, Rey Publico, and Ray Nambatac for last NCAA season's finalists, while his Lyceum counterpart Bonnie Tan fielded Arwin Azores, Dexter Zamora, former Letran player Andrei Mendoza, Jepoy Soliman, and Josemari Lacastesantos.

Nambatac started things off in a hurry, dribbling to the right wing for the first two points of the game, followed by a split from Gabawan to give Letran a 3-0 advantage. Lyceum‘s first two jumpers were off, but they finally scored on a lay-in by Azores, 3-2.

The teams would g on a tit-for-tat until Zamora exploded for nine straight points. In one sequence, Zamora stopped and popped for a triple, sliced for a lay-in, made another triple, and split his charities to give Lyceum a 17-9 advantage midway through the first quarter.

Free throws from Letran forwards Publico and Ford Ruaya generated scores for the Knights, who were sputtering offensively, giving up turnovers and missing from long-range. A pair by Publico cut their deficit to 17-12, but a triple by Vergel Evangelista and a lay-in from Taladua off a steal from Letran forward Fidel Castro upped their lead to 10, 22-12, prompting coach Garcia to call his first timeout.

Letran responded with a triple by Castro from the left wing. Almario split his free throws and Tirso Lesmoras failed to shoot the last two free throws of the quarter as the Pirates led 22-16 after the first ten minutes.

The Pirates extended their lead in the second, as Azores scored inside and Lesmores hit a triple after a jumper by Publico, 27-18. A stab by Ruaya plus a foul gave Letran some breathing room at 27-21, but Lacastesantos banked another tough lay-up to keep Lyceum's lead at eight. A free throw by Solomon gave LPU their biggest lead at nine, 30-21.

Coach Garcia fielded Edward Olotu, who soon drew an unsportsmanlike off LPU center Daniel Garcia. Olotu made both free throws, and Publico made a follow-up lay-in on a fast break possession off a Zamora turnover to cut the lead to just five, 3-25.

Another lay-up by Lacastesantos extended the lead to seven, 32-25, but free throws by Jovit Tambeling and a lay-up by Nambatac kept them within three, 32-29. On the last minute of the second, Shane Ko was able to bank in a lay-up, but Cruz found an open Dysam in the right corner for an open triple, keeping Lyceum’s lead honest at 34-32 heading to the second half.

The Pirates made 14 of their 39 shots (36 percent), while converting 4-of-12 tries from distance. They also out-rebounded their foes, 34-29, while scoring 14 turnovers points from 11 Letran turnovers.
 
Lyceum made only two out of their 10 attempts from the free throw line. Zamora led his team with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting from distance, while tallying four rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes. Helping their cause was Lacastesantos with six points, all from fast breaks.

Letran had a hard time finishing at the rim, making only nine of their 41 attempts (22 percent). They converted only two of their 15 tries from long range, but were relatively successful at the charity stripe, making 12 of 18 attempts (67 percent). Despite 11 offensive rebounds, they scored only two second chance points.

Nambatac paced the Knights with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Publico chipped in with seven of his own.

The Knights saddled up for a running game in the third, as they were able to fend off attacks by the Pirates. Nambatac flattened the game at 34-all after free throws, but Zamora countered with a triple. Cruz hit a short jumper to cut Lyceum's lead to one, 37-36, but Azores answered with a jumper of his own. Nambatac replied, and a lay-up by Luib put Letran ahead, 40-39.

Letran continued spearing the Pirates, extending the lead to five after Cruz completed a three-point play and Nambatac split his free throws. A fast break basket by Lesmoras cut their deficit to three, but a triple by Luib finally put some comfortable distance between the two teams, 47-41.

An inside stab by Olotu and a subsequent free throw gave Letran a nine-point lead. Tambeling split his free throws to give them their biggest lead of the quarter at 51-41. The Pirates tried to parry their blows in the last three minutes, and they managed get consecutive baskets from Jerimiah Taladua and Lesmoras to cut the difference to 51-45. After a shot by Evangelista against Ruaya shrank the lead to just four points, 51-47, coach Garcia called for time.

Ko managed to bank another lay-in, but Luib neutralized it with a triple, 56-49. A free throw by Garcia off a late foul cut the lead to 56-50, heading into the last ten minutes.

The Knights continued to extend the lead after a shot inside by Gabawan. On an ensuing possession by Letran, Zamora was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul after aggressively going for the steal. Free throws by Dysam again made it a double-digit lead for Letran, 60-50.

Mendoza, bothered by three fouls, finally subbed back in and made a short stab against his old teammates, 60-52. After a Letran turnover, Ko rushed to the other end and banked another lay-in, 62-56, but a jumper by Cruz and a lay-up by Dysam extended the lead to 66-56.

A stab by Gabawan inside and a short jumper by Nambatac upped Letran's advantage to 14 points, 70-56. Mendoza silenced the Letran crowd with a jumper, but a triple by Dysam from the left corner gave Letran their biggest lead since the first quarter at 15 points, 73-58.

Lesmoras and Zamora made two straight lay-ins, plus a free throw for Lesmoras, to cut it to 10, 73-63. On a Letran possession, Dysam was fouled again, drawing Mendoza's fifth, which sent him to the bench. Dysam split his free throws, but a triple by Zamora further ate into the lead, 74-66.

Luib got hacked on a foray to the hoop and split his charities, 75-66, only for Azores got the hoop and the harm on the ensuing possession. Azores made the free throw to cut Letran’s lead to six points, 75-69.

The LPU defense fouled Olotu on a shot attempt, and Olotu split his free throws to give them a 76-69 edge. A triple by Lesmoras cut the lead again to 76-72 with 22 ticks remaining. The Pirates failed to make anything with that timeframe, and free throws by Letran forward JC Po iced the game at 77-72.

Rookie Rey Nambatac led Letran with 16 points on 50 percent shooting. He also added eight rebounds in his 27-minute stint. McJour Luib added 11 points and another eight boards, while Mark Cruz came off the bench for seven markers and seven dimes.

Dexter Zamora top-scored for all players with 17 points, including 12 off three-pointers. In addition, he had five boards and four assists, but turned the ball over a team-high six times. Vergel Evangelista fired in 13, while Tirso Lesmoras scattered 10 markers.

Lyceum lost despite shooting 39 percent from the field, compared to Letran's 32 percent clip. The Pirates also got a 24-10 difference in fast break points and a 22-16 edge in turnover points, but it was for naught.

The Pirates return to action next Friday, May 24, going against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers at 12:45pm, while the Knights engage the De La Salle University Green Archers in a melee at 3:30pm on Monday, May 27. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Letran 77 - Nambatac 16, Luib 11, Dysam 10, Publico 9, Cruz 7, Oluto 6, Ruaya 5, Gabawan 5, Tambeling 3, Castro 3, Almario 1, Po 1, Requero o

Lyceum 72 - Zamora 17, Evangelista 13, Lesmoras 10, Azores 9, Taladua 6, Lacastesantos 6, Ko 6, Mendoza 4, Soliman 1, Franciso 0, Garcia 0, Edora 0

Quarter-scoring: 16-22, 32-34, 56-50, 77-72