Cardinals rip Pirates, enter quarterfinal
IVAN Lazarte shows the way for Mapua which scored an 83-68 win over Lyceum on Thursday for a quarterfinal seat in the Season 102 NCAA basketball tournament.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NCAA
Mapua University made short work of Lyceum of the Philippines University, 83-68, to advance to the quarterfinals of Season 102 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage as the fourth seed in Group A, the Cardinals ended the Pirates’ campaign in the play-in tournament and arranged a quarterfinal clash with Group B top seed Letran College.
The Knights finished the elimination round with a 9-4 record, giving Mapua a twice-to-win disadvantage in the next round.
Ivan Lazarte led the Cardinals with 25 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal, shooting 9-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
““I’m not thinking about the fact that I’m not at 100 percent. We need to buy into Coach (Chito Victolero)’s system right now. That’s what we want — to buy in and win,” Lazarte said.
“No time to relax, no time to celebrate; we’re immediately focused on our next game.”
Mapua took control early, leading 24-14 after the first quarter and 48-33 at halftime.
The Cardinals maintained their advantage in the third period, 68-55, before closing out the victory.
Russell Liwanag chipped in 15 points, while Cyrus Cuenco added 13 and Jamal Diaz contributed 11 for Mapua.
Mclaude Guadaña led Lyceum with 15 points in his final game as a Pirate.
Renzelle Villegas added 12, while Matthew Rubico finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.