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| Ato Barba sizzled for quarterfinal-bound Lyceum. NCAA |
SAN JUAN, MM––Lyceum secured one of the last two tickets for the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball quarterfinals on Tuesday after giving San Sebastian the boot, 70-63, at Playtime FilOil Centre.
The Pirates’ title bid stayed alive but not without a huge roadblock ahead.
As Group A’s fourth seed, Lyceum will be taking on Group B leader San Beda, which has a pivotal twice-to-beat incentive.
John Barba, though, wasn’t thinking of that at all during Lyceum’s elimination of the Golden Stags.
For the graduating guard, staying alive was the sole focus.
“Kagabi ko pa iniisip na ngayong laro, kailangan ko na ibigay ‘yong hundred percent ko kasi ayoko pa maging last game [namin] to,” Barba said.
“Gusto namin maging memorable ‘to. Gusto namin magandang matapos ‘tong season na ‘to kaya it’s a good thing na nanalo kami.”
Baste gave Lyceum a scare late, cutting their deficit to two, 62-60, with 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates, however, flaunted their late-game composure, as they dropped six unanswered points, including a clutch triple from Jonathan Daileg in the 1:13 mark of the payoff period to take a 68-60 lead in the dying seconds of the game.
Barba scored a game-high 22 points with three assists and three rebounds to keep the Pirates breathing in the competition.
Daileg and JM Versoza also scored 14 points each in the win.
Jhuniel Dela Rama’s double-double outing of 17 points and 15 rebounds wasn’t enough to keep the Stags alive.
Jose Lumanag also dropped 15 points to his name in a losing effort.
Overall, they ended their season with a 3-11 record.
The scores:
LYCEUM 70 – Barba 22, Daileg 14, Versoza 14, Villegas 10, Montaño 3, Peñafiel 3, Moralejo 2, Aviles 2, Matienzo 0, Fuentes 0, Pallingayan 0, Casiño 0, Abregana 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 63 – Dela Rama 17, Lumanag 15, Cabilla 11, Gabat 6, Ricio 5, Castor 4, Felebrico 3, Dimaunahan 2, Cuajao 0, Nepacena 0
Quarterscores: 20-21, 38-42, 50-47, 70-63
