GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
ADVERTISEMENT
Filtered By: Sports
Sports
FilOil: LPU Pirates spoil newcomers St. Clare Saints
+
Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.
The Pirates' Dexter Zamora probes the defense while being shadowed by Redoh Favien of SCC. KC Cruz
The Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates cruised to their second straight win by escaping the St. Clare Saints, 85-82, on Saturday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Wilson Baltazar showed off his wares, scoring 17 huge points, 15 from downtown. Former St. Benilde Blazer Rhoele Maconocido tallied 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists for Lyceum, while Dexter Zamora notched 14 points.
The Pirates led by as much as 10 points in the final quarter but squandered the lead after the Saints went on a 10-2 run midway through. King Pirate Dexter Zamora drilled a crucial triple over 6’6” Steve Fongue to snare the lead for his squad, and the Saints failed to convert anything in the last few seconds of the ballgame.
It was the first loss for the Saints, who are playing their first year in the Premier Cup.
It was the first loss for the Saints, who are playing their first year in the Premier Cup.
After the game, Pirates coach Bonnie Tan sees his team in the upstart Saints, and notes how far Lyceum has grown since joining the NCAA in 2011. "Before, we used to be like Saint Clare that we had to beat giants, so sabi ko sa players natin we have to move on from a palipat team so we can be considered [seriously]," he said. "We have been in the NCAA for the past three years. Now we have to know how to play like a giant. Luckily we had what it takes to win and we're still trying to learn to be a giant."
Zamora agreed that there was room to improve for their team. "Medyo minalas kami sa outside shoting namin kaya siguro nagcompete sila. Defense namin medyo nagcocollapse pa rin," he said.
"Maraming lapses pa rin, marami kaming kailangan i-workout, learning experience to para sa amin," agreed his teammate Arvin Azores.
The Saints opened the quarter bricking their shots, but hung around due to their stingy defense, as both teams stayed stuck near each other. St. Clare drew six quick points from Jan Acebron, who took advantage of the scoring corridors the Lyceum defense gave him. The tide turned in the Pirates’ favor when Coach Tan inserted Zamora and Guy Mbida, giving them options on offense as they headed to the second quarter with a 24-21 lead over the newcomers.
By the second quarter, the Pirates had been getting good looks at the basket but their bench failed to convert any, while St. Clare continued to nip at their heels. Lyceum gained considerable separation though after consecutive triples from Maconocido and Baltazar, combined with a fast break basket to give them a 44-36 lead. St. Clare had trouble converting anything in the last two minutes, finally scoring on a free throw as they trailed by seven heading to the intermission, 44-37.
Shane Ko’s drive and dish game spearheaded a faster attack from the Pirates, while the Saints relied on post play from Raymond Jamito and Dulalia, though the lead remained from seven to eight points in the third quarter. The lead reached double-digits after a fast break basket from Ko, 59-49, but St. Clare found ways to stay in range, resorting to drawing fouls off Lyceum’s stiff interior defense. The quarter ended with the Pirates sill leading by seven, 66-59.
Zamora drilled a triple to extend their lead to 10 points early in the fourth, 73-63, while St. Clare couldn’t buy a basket outside five feet of the rim. Jason Ibay fuelled a 12-2 run, scoring eight points while playing in a faster tempo. After Marte Gil tied the game with free throws at 79-all, Zamora hit a crucial three-pointer while Fongue committed an out of bounds infraction, squandering their final possession and handing Lyceum their second win.
Mbida and Ko added 11 points apiece for Lyceum. Mbida also grabbed nine rebounds. The Pirates outgunned the Saints, shooting 48 percent from the field by making 29 out of 61 attempts despite committing 32 fouls.
Jason Ibay scored 19 points in a losing cause. Raymond Jamito notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Robin Dulalia and Jan Acebron scored 11 points apiece for St. Clare. The Saints won every aspect of the rebounding battle, grabbing 46 rebounds compared to the Pirates’ 34, but failed to take advantage of the freebies off LPU’s 32 fouls, converting only 29 out of 41 possible attempts.
Both teams face challenging assignments in their next games as the Pirates (1-0) battle the against FEU Tamaraws (2-0) on Wednesday, May 7 at 10:45am, while the Saints take on the San Beda Red Lions (2-0) on Monday, May 5 at 4pm. - JDL, GMA News
The scores:
LPU 85 – Baltazar 17, Maconocido 15, Zamora 14, Mbida 11, Ko 11, Bulawan 5, Azores 4, Gabayani 4, Soliman 2, Evangelista 2, Taladua 0, Malabanan 0, Lesmoras 0
SCC 82 – Ibay 18, Jamito 11, Dulalia 11, Acebron 11, Managuelod 9, Fabien 7, Lunor 7, Gil 6, Ibarra 2, Bolos 0
Quarter scoring: 24-21, 37-44, 66-59, 85-82
