Lyceum of the Philippines University lost a key piece in Renzo Navarro, who sat out their clash against Jose Rizal University on Wednesday in NCAA Season 98.
Navarro, who is averaging 5.13 assists per game, was disqualified with 4:36 left in their match against San Sebastian College-Recoletos last Tuesday after accumulating two technical fouls. With his ejection in that game, the veteran point guard also had to serve a one-game suspension and miss their meeting with the Heavy Bombers.
But head coach Gilbert Malabanan lauded Greg Cunanan for keeping their offense intact by facilitating their attacks against a defense-minded JRU.
"Even when Renzo is not playing, I give credit to my point guards, especially Cunanan," Malabanan said.
Against JRU, Cunanan dished out a team-high seven assists to go along with two rebounds despite going scoreless. LPU also outscored JRU by 22 points in the minutes that Cunanan was on the court as the Pirates eked out a 79-62 win and boosted their top two finish bid.
Malabanan said the contributions from other players are important, especially as they are now a few games away from starting their Final Four campaign.
"Honestly speaking, kakailanganin ko sila when it comes to playoffs eh and these remaining games namin mas matitindi 'yung kalaban namin and hindi naman pwedeng si Renzo ang maglalaro ng 40 minutes," he said.
"I want quality minutes from the other players na mabibigyan ko ng opportunity na maglaro. And the good thing is they respond well."
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
