Oman Omandac played hero anew as he hit timely triples to lift Lyceum of the Philippines University to a win against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on Friday in the NCAA Season 99.
Omandac, who stepped up for foul-laden big man Shawn Umali, buried two triples down the stretch to provide the finishing kick that Lyceum needed as he listed nine points while Enoch Valdez and JM Bravo paced the Pirates with 15 and 14 markers apiece.
LPU completed an elimination round sweep of Benilde to improve to 11-3 while Benilde snapped its five-game winning streak to go 9-5.
The Blazers led multiple times in the game but the Pirates refused to fold as team captain Valdez tied things up at 73-all late in the fourth after they erased what was once a 10-point deficit.
After trading free throws from both sides, a crucial putback basket from Bravo saw the Pirates ahead by one, 77-76, before Omandac buried a huge triple from the top of the key with 1:03 left, 80-76.
Robi Nayve then found an open Migs Oczon in the corner for the three-pointer to cut the LPU lead to one.
Omandac, though, soared for another triple over the defense of Will Gozum to give the Pirates an 83-79 cushion.
Prince Carlos had the chance to tie and force an overtime but he missed a potential game-tying triple from the corner as Benilde could not complete its revenge against LPU, which defeated them during the opening day last September 24.
Oczon, despite committing two consecutive turnovers in the final seconds, top-scored Benilde with 19 points on top of seven rebounds, two assists, and one block while Carlos produced 16 markers, five boards, and two dimes.
LPU will look to bag its sixth win in a row on Sunday when it takes on dangerous Perpetual at 12 p.m. while Benilde will look to bounce back on the same day against San Sebastian College-Recoletos.
Scores:
LPU 84- Valdez 15, Bravo 14, Barba 13, Umali 9, Omandac 9, Guadana 7, Penafiel 6, Cunanan 5, Versoza 2, Villegas 2, Montano 2, Fuentes 0.
Benilde 81- Oczon 19, Carlos 16, Gozum 13, Corteza 11, Nayve 7, Morales 7, Marcos 5, Arciaga 3, Turco 0, Mara 0, Marasigan 0, Cajucom 0, Jarque 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20; 43-45; 59-64; 84-81
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
