LYCEUM survived a huge College of St. Benilde fightback and held on for an 82-81 win to punch the last ticket to the NCAA Season 100 Final Four men's basketball tournament on Friday.
Ato Barba was a perfect 9-of-9 from the field to finish with a game-high 27 points for the Pirates, who will be making their third straight semifinals appearance in the country's grand old collegiate league.
The win wasn't in the bag for the host school until the Blazers botched their final two possessions in the last 2.9 seconds of the game, including an alley oop play by Tony Ynot to Allen Liwag at the buzzer that sent the Lyceum crowd in a frenzy the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
"Honestly, I'm speechless," said Lyceum coach Gilbert Malabanan, whose team lost a huge 39-23 lead in the face of a massive endgame assault by the Blazers.
"But I'm very proud and happy for my players for giving their best."
READ Letran's gloomy season won't cloud bright future for Knights
A healthy JM Bravo added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Mclaude Guadana, Jonathan Daeleg, and Renz Villegas each had 11 for Lyceum, which became the first host to advance in the Final Four since University of Perpetual Help in 2018.
The Pirates ended the eliminations with a 10-8 record after winning their last four outings.
The lost sent St. Benilde down in second place on a 14-4 record as they lost grip of the top spot which rival Mapua now holds on a 14-3 slate. The Blazers could end up as the No. 2 team should Mapua win over also-ran Arellano University on Saturday.
In such a scenario, the Blazers would end up facing defending champion San Beda in the Final Four, with Mapua taking on No. 4 Lyceum.
But a Mapua loss will create a two-way tie at No. 1 which St. Benilde will take owing to a better quotient against the Cardinals.
Villegas scored on a layup off a transition that gave Lyceum an 82-79 lead with 13 seconds to go.
Allen Liwag however, countered at the other end plus a foul to boot to make it an 82-81 contest. But the leading MVP contender missed the bonus free throw, although the ball went back to the Blazers as Barba failed to control possession.
St. Benilde had two possible game-tying opportunities, but Gab Cometa and Liwag both failed to convert the game winner.
The scores:
Lyceum (82) – Barba 27, Bravo 12, Villegas 11, Guadaña 11, Daileg 11, Versoza 4, Aviles 4, Montaño 2, Cunanan 0, Panelo 0
St 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
Quarterscores: 26-17, 46-42, 65-62, 82-81.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
