Big plays from the Marcelino twins in the last two minutes pushed the Lyceum University of the Philippines Pirates to an 84-80 repulsing of the Letran Knights yesterday at the start of the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The younger of the 20-year-old standouts, Jaycee showed the way with 24 points for the Pirates, including eight points in the fourth period as Lyceum fought their way back into the lead in the last two minutes.
It was Jayvee’s driving shot off Letran’s Larry Muyang’s fifth foul in the last 1:22 which allowed the Pirates to shatter the game’s last deadlock and put them ahead by three, 80-77, with his three-point play.
Cancer survivor Jerrick Balanza, who shot 19 points for the Knights, missed a basket off Nino Ibanez in the next play, and Jayvee struck again following Jaycee’s pass after the turnover.
With Jayvee scoring with 50.7 ticks left, the Pirates stayed ahead by five, 82-77.
The absence of injured big man Mike Harry Nzeusseu tolled heavily on the game of the Pirates, but they fought their way back from six points down in the last seven minutes.
Nzeusseu, the Pirates’ 6’8” slotman from Cameroon, sat out the game after hurting his right index finger during a pre-season game. He will be back when the Pirates meet the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals on Friday.
This year’s competitions are hosted by Arellano University, which embraced the theme “Kaisa sa Pagkakaiba,” in line with its push to promote togetherness among the 10 member schools.
Students wearing outfits that showcased the tribal culture in the country went around during the parade of athletes, while rocker Bamboo and NCAA battle of the bands champion Cherry Band from Mapua University had a short performance.
“Coming to the game, we discussed how we will look at the season. It’s not about the result of the game, but how we are playing the game,” said Pirates’ coach Topex Robinson.
Meanwhile, Donald Tankoua fired 19 points and had 12 rebounds for the defending champion San Beda Red Lions as they demolished the Arellano Chiefs, 59-46.
The Knights, with new coach Bonnie Tan back in the league after last handling Lyceum three years ago, continued to give the Pirates a scare in the remaining 41 seconds.
A triple from Edson Batiller gave the Knights a reason to keep on fighting, 80-82.
But after Balanza missed an attempt, Jayvee stole the ball off Jayson David and went for a drive in the last three seconds to hand the Pirates a four-point edge when the game ended.
The Pirates lost the lead with 7:15 to go following a drive and triple from Balanza, 70-66.
It was Balanza’s best game since bouncing back from a brain tumor that sidelined him for most of the season last year.