SHIVER ME TIMBERS!: Pirates clip Blazers, grab semifinal ticket

Games today:

(Cuneta Astrodome)

11 a.m. — Mapua vs Arellano

2:30 p.m. — San Beda vs San Sebastian

Lyceum of the Philippines University averted a late meltdown and clinched the last Final Four slot with an 82-81 win over College of Saint Benilde in Season 100 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

With a 10-8 win-loss record at the end of the elimination round, the Pirates are back in the semifinals for the third straight season.

This victory also denied the Blazers, who finished the elimination round with a 14-4 record, a chance to clinch the outright top seed in the Final Four and will have to wait for the result between Mapua University, which has a 14-3 card, and Arellano University at 11 a.m. today at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Should the Cardinals win today over the Chiefs, they will take the No. 1 seed and will face Lyceum on 23 November in the Final Four.

Under this scenario, it will leave Saint Benilde as the No. 2 seed and could go up against defending champion San Beda University, which is playing against San Sebastian College today at 2:30 p.m., in the semifinals.

Lyceum had a commanding 66-76 lead in the final 3:57 of the fourth quarter when a layup from Allen Liwag kickstarted a 13-4 run to cut the lead down to one point.

Renz Villegas then sank a layup off the fastbreak to give the Pirates an 82-79 lead with 13.3 seconds left in the game.

Liwag then answered back with a layup of his own with 5.3 ticks left as Saint Benilde cut the deficit to one, 81-82.

Liwag, who finished with a double-double game of 20 points and 16 rebounds, missed the bonus free throw but the Blazers got back the ball after a turnover from Lyceum with two seconds left on the clock.

Gab Cometa had a chance to give Saint Benilde the lead with 0.7 seconds left but was unable to shake off the defense of Michael Versoza and Greg Cunanan.

The Blazers then leaned on Liwag for their final play but his jumper didn’t even touch the net as the clock expired.

John Barba had a perfect shooting day, going 9-of-9 from the field to get 27 points.

Lyceum head coach Gilbert Malabanan said they went hard until the end in guarding Liwag, especially in the clutch moments.

“Our game plan was limiting Liwag. If you limit his scoring, there’s a chance you can win the game,” Malabanan said.

“The players were getting tired of guarding him but I told them they have to sacrifice their bodies since we’re almost there.”

JM Bravo poured out 12 points and eight rebounds while Villegas had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists for Lyceum.

Jhomel Ancheta had 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Saint Benilde.

Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College capped its season with a 73-66 win over Jose Rizal University in the second game.

King Gurtiza scored 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists in his finals season as the Generals fell short of a semifinal stint with a 9-9 record.

Mart Barrera scored 18 points as the Heavy Bombers finished with a 4-14 slate.

The scores:

First game

LYCEUM (82) — Barba 27, Bravo 12, Villegas 11, Guadaña 11, Daileg 11, Versoza 4, Aviles 4, Montaño 2, Cunanan 0, Panelo 0.

SAINT BENILDE (81) — Liwag 20, Ancheta 18, Sanchez 11, Cometa 9, Ynot 7, Sangco 6, Morales 4, Torres 3, Jarque 2, Eusebio 1, Oli 0, Ondoa 0, Cajucom 0.

QUARTERS: 26-17, 46-42, 65-62, 82-81.

Second game

EAC (73) — Gurtiza 18, Pagsanjan 17, Bagay 11, Doromal 6, Luciano 6, Lucero 4, Oftana 3, Umpad 3, Jacob 2, Loristo 2, Quinal 1, Ochavo 0, Postanes 0, Angeles 0.

JRU (66) — Barrera 18, Argente 15, Guiab 12, Sarmiento 5, Raymundo 4, De Jesus 4, Lozano 3, Pangilinan 2, De Leon 2, Mosqueda 1, Panapanaan 0, Ramos 0, Ferrer 0, Samontanes 0, Benitez 0.

QUARTERS: 19-19; 25-30; 54-50; 73-66.