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| Yam Concepcion led the way for Mapua before Cyril Gonzales saved his blushes in the end. NCAA |
MANILA--Mapua averted another upset bid from Lyceum with a 78-73 win at the start of the second round of the NCAA men's basketball group stages on Friday at the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Pirates were on the verge of adding the Cardinals to their upset list three days after stunning the San Beda Red Lions as they held a 70-67 lead with 2:38 left.
However, Mapua launched a 9-1 run that gave the team a 76-71 lead with 32.1 seconds remaining.
Josh Moralejo, the hero in Lyceum's San Beda shocker, kept his team in the game with a layup with 19.5 seconds remaining that cut the lead to three, 76-73.
The Pirates then forced a Yam Concepcion turnover, giving them 13.5 seconds to force overtime, but Cyril Gonzales stripped the ball from Jonathan Daileg before he launched a three-pointer.
Gonzales eventually sealed the Cardinals' win with two free throws with 3.9 seconds left.
Concepcion led Mapua, now 5-5 in the team standings, with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal, while JC Recto added 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Daileg put up 18 points on 6-of-8 field goals and two rebounds for Lyceum, which fell to 2-8.
The scores:
Mapua 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
Quarterscores: 21-28, 41-42, 61-55, 78-73
