Lyceum of the Philippines University completed a sweep of last season’s Final Four cast after an 82-75 come-from-behind win over Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the NCAA Season 98 on Sunday.
Mclaude Guadana scored 20 points to lead the Pirates while Ato Barba and Gyle Montano each added 12 markers to help LPU's cause.
With the win, Lyceum, which improved to 5-1, has now beaten all Season 97 semifinalists in San Beda, Perpetual, Mapua, and defending champion Letran.
Tied at 73, Barba delivered a dagger triple to give Lyceum a 76-73 lead with 1:53 left in the game before Guadana sank four freebies.
Kevin Santos then completed two charities to bring Letran to within five, 80-75, but Renzo Navarro stole the leather for another Barba finish with 10.3 ticks left.
The Knights, which missed three key players in Louie Sangalang, Brent Paraiso, and Paolo Javillonar, absorbed their second straight defeat to drop to 3-3.
Navarro also contributed 11 points and a team-high seven assists for LPU while Enoch Valdez struggled on offense for only five points on 2-for-10 shooting but grabbed 12 rebounds and had six steals and one block.
Fran Yu finished with 18 points and Kurt Reyson had 16 to lead Letran while King Caralipio had a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Letran was quick to get its offense going with snipers Yu and Reyson firing three triples each in the first half, which ended with the defending champions holding a 46-35 lead.
Prior to that, Letran was able to establish a 19-point lead, 35-16, early in the second quarter but the Pirates were able to trim their deficit to just 11, 44-33. But a Santos buzzer-beater basket had Letran leading by nine.
But it became a tight affair since that point on.
Lyceum retook the lead, 49-48, after a triple from Guadana as part of their 14-2 run to open the third.
Lyceum rode on that momentum come fourth, taking a slim 68-65 cushion before a Kurt Reyson triple gave Letran back the advantage, 73-71.
The scores:
LPU 82 - Guadana 20, Barba 12, Montano 12, Navarro 11, Larupay 9, Umali 7, Valdez 5, Culanay 3, Villagas 2, Penafiel 1, Bravo 0, Aviles 0, Vinoya 00, Cunanan 0.
Letran 75 - Yu 18, Reyson 16, Caralipio 12, Santos 10, Monje 8, Olivario 6, Guarinio 3, Miclat 2, Go 0, Bojorcelo 0, Bautista 0.
Quarters: 13-29, 35-46, 61-60, 82-75.
—JMB, GMA News
