REVENGE PERFORMANCE: Pirates flaunt might, crush Knights

Games today:

(Filoil EcoOil Centre)

11 a.m. — San Beda vs Arellano

2:30 p.m. — Mapua vs JRU

Lyceum of the Philippines got all cylinders firing as it registered a convincing 91-68 win over Letran College in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

With Renz Villegas catching fire and John Barba flirted with a triple-double performance, the Pirates were unstoppable as they dominated on both ends to pull off the victory that avenged their painful 65-78 setback at the end of the first round last Saturday.

Meanwhile, King Gurtiza and Harvey Pagsanjan delivered in the clutch as Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) pulled off a 78-70 win over University of Perpetual Help System Dalta in the second game.

Gurtiza led EAC with 21 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Wilmar Oftana had 12 points, eight rebounds, an assist, and three steals as they joined the Pirates in fifth place with a 5-5 record.

Villegas dropped 23 points while Barba delivered 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Pirates, who won their fifth game in 10 games to boost their morale heading into the crucial stretch of the double-round eliminations.

Barba, the league’s scoring leader after the first round with 19.78 markers per outing, said their previous loss was so painful that it prompted them to call for a team building to reflect and plot a way to recover, especially against the Knights who are their potential foes in the Final Four.

“When we lost to Letran after the first round, we had a team building at LPU Cavite. We made our preparations there,” said Barba, adding that their eyes are set on making it to the Final Four.

“We knew we had a bad game and this is a golden opportunity for us to recover. Good thing we were able to bounce back.”

Lyceum head coach Gilbert Malabanan lauded his wards, saying that the return of JM Bravo and Michael Versoza from injuries boosted their bid, especially in the rebounding department in which they clobbered Letran, 52-31.

The Pirates also forced Letran to commit 19 turnovers that they converted into 26 points while holding Letran stars Pao Javillonar, Deo Cuajao, and Kevin Santos scoreless in the payoff period before Villegas erected the biggest lead at 25, 91-66, with only 38 seconds left.

Bravo, who missed seven games due to back injury, finished with 10 points and eight rebounds behind Gyle Montaño who dropped 16 points.

“They are enjoying the game after seeing their brothers play again. That’s why players like Barba also contributed in rebounding too,” Malabanan said, asserting that revenge was the last thing on their minds.

“We weren’t thinking about revenge entering this game since we will be playing the same teams again in the second round. We just needed to learn why we lost last time and I’m blessed that some of my injured players have returned.”

The Scores:

First game

LYCEUM (91) — Villegas 23, Barba 19, Montano 16, Bravo 10, Versoza 7, Aviles 5, Cunanan 4, Peñafiel 4, Daileg 3, Moralejo 0, Paulo 0, Gordon 0, Panelo 0, Palingayan 0.

LETRAN (68) — Cuajao 16, Estrada 11, Javillonar 10, Miller 9, Monje 9, Santos 8, Nunag 2, Delfino 2, Montecillo 1, Baliling 0, Pradella 0.

QUARTERS: 21-21, 49-43, 70-61, 91-68.

Second game

EAC (78) — Gurtiza 21, Oftana 12, Loristo 10, Quinal 9, Pagsanjan 7, Ochavo 6, Umpad 4, Lucero 3, Bagay 3, Angeles 2, Manacho 1, Devara 0, Jacob 0, Bacud 0, Luciano 0.

PERPETUAL (70) — Orgo 16, Abis 14, Pagaran 10, Gojo Cruz 8, Montemayor 7, Nuñez 5, Gelsano 5, Boral 3, Manuel 2, Cauguiran 0.

QUARTERS: 16-21, 32-46, 53-58, 78-70.