By Patrick Sutare
SAN JUAN, MM—As other great things, a scorching run must come to an end.
And the Lyceum of the Philippines University saw it fall into the hands of the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta.
The Altas employed tight defense right from the opening tip and got all needed breaks down the stretch to escape with a 71-68 victory over the Pirates at the FilOil Flying V Center for NCAA Season 92 on Friday.
LPU led for most stages of the game before being held scoreless in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
UPHSD exploited the drought by scoring an 8-0 outburst capped by a three-point basket from Daryl Singontico, 62-55.
Mike Nzeusseu then responded with a huge jam to stop the bleeding for the Pirates with 3:40 remaining.
Both squads started to trade blows coming into the crunch time.
Down by four with less than two minutes, LPU forced a turnover off a bad pass but UPHSD was quick to recover in transition, blocking a possible breakaway from Shaq Alanes.
Bright Akhuetie then scored an and-1 play to complete a five-point swing and extend their lead to seven, 70-63.
The hefty squad from Intramuros, however, would not raise the white flag.
They scored five unanswered points to cut the deficit to two, 68-70 with 35 seconds left.
Gab Daganon then went for a split of his crucial free throws, 68-71, but Alanes failed to sink a possible game-tying three point basket.
Daganon finished the game in an impressive fashion after logging in 16 markers along with 12 boards. Akhueti chipped in 13, 10 of which came from the fourth quarter.
The win registered the fifth win in seven games for the Altas.
Nzeusseu posted 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as the Pirates fell to 3-4.
Box Scores:
Perpetual Help 71-Dagangon 16, Akhuetie 13, Pido 10, Eze 10, Coronel 7, Sadiwa 6, Oliveria 4, Singontiko 3, Hao 2, Dizon 0, Yuhico 0
Lyceum 68-Nzeusseu 18, Ayaay 15, Baltazar 8, Alban 8, Alanes 7, Caduyac 7, Marata 3, Serafico 2, Malabanan 0, Rubite 0
Quarterscores: 19-21, 36-40, 54-55, 71-68
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