BY MILES ARCENAL
MAPUA University recovered from a sloppy start to edge out Lyceum, 78-73, and return in the winning column of the NCAA Season 101 on Friday at the Playtime FilOil Centre.
JC Recto drained the go-ahead three pointer before Yam Concepcion converted his defensive stop to a fastbreak layup to finally take control of the game before a series of defensive stops down the stretch sealed the win for the defending champions.
Concepcion finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with his four rebounds, one steal, and a block.
The Cardinals solidified their seat at the second of Pool A with 5-5 record following their tough 65-75 loss against St. Benilde in the crossover a week ago.
“Ilang beses din kami nag–slow start eh. Yung last few games namin, puro slow start kami. Ngayon, parang hindi pa rin namin na-improve yung first half namin kasi may mga instances na tatambakan kami,” said Recto, who tallied a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“So, sinabi lang ng coaches sa second half kanina na kailangan namin itong mabawi sa depensa kasi ayun yung strength namin.”
Indeed, after several turnovers in the opening period that put them down by as many as 13 and allowed Lyceum to convert easy fastbreak points, Mapua tightened its defense to close the gap to 41–42 before heading into halftime.
Marc Cuenco opened the second half on fire, draining back-to-back treys to spark the Cardinals back to form and build a 54–43 cushion midway through the third frame.
However, Jonathan Daileg breathed life into the Pirates with his own triple and tomahawk slam, putting them back on top, 64–61, late in the quarter.
During the crucial stretch, Renz Villegas buried a jumper to give Lyceum a 69–67 lead before the Concepcion–Recto heroics took over.
“Kailangan pa namin ma-improve as a team yung defense namin, yung scheme namin sa depensa. Sumunod lang kami sa flow ng offense namin which is yung itinuro ng coaching staff na magpasaan din kami kasi ayun din yung kulang namin” Recto added, after the team dished out a total of 22 assists.
Cuenco chipped in 12 points - all from beyond the arc - while Cyrus Nitura and Clint Escamis added 10 and seven, respectively.
On the other hand, Daileg paced the now 2–8 Lyceum with 18 points, while Villegas contributed 16.
The scores:
MU 78 - Concepcion 15, Recto 14, Cuenco 12, Nitura 10, Escamis 7, Gonzales 6, Sapasap 5, Lazarte 4, Callangan 3, Reyes 2, Igliane 0, Delos Reyes 0
LPU 73 - Daileg 18, Villegas 16, Matienzo 7, Peñafiel 7, Moralejo 5, Montaño 5, Aviles 4, Barba 4, Aurigue 3, Pallingayan 2, Versoza 2, Abregana 0, Fuentes 0, Gordon 0
Quarters: 21-28, 41-42, 61-55, 78-63
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