Bombers disarm Pirates

Jose Rizal University (JRU) survived a late Lyceum of the Philippines University rally to escape with an 81-78 victory in Season 102 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The Heavy Bombers bounced back from their 71-75 loss to San Beda University last Friday to improve to an 8-3 record in Group A.

JRU held a four-point lead, 79-75, with 1:23 remaining in the fourth quarter before Matthew Rubico completed an and-one play to pull the Pirates within one, 79-78, with 16 seconds left.

Returning from a shoulder injury, Lawrence Mangubat calmly sank two free throws on the ensuing possession to restore JRU’s three-point cushion.

Lyceum had 9.2 seconds to force overtime, but its attempts at game-tying triples by Lance Aurigue and Renz Villegas missed the mark as the Pirates fell to 4-6.

Sanlea Peñaverde led the Heavy Bombers with 22 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.

“Lyceum doesn’t just give up easily. Last season, they even came close to reaching the Final Four,” Peñaverde said.

“Whenever I watch them, they’re clearly strong, and their style of play is truly unique.”

Sean Salvador added 16 points, while Mangubat finished with 12 while Ivan Panapanaan chipped in a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.