Lyceum of the Philippines head coach Gilbert Malabanan is holding out hope that the Pirates’ three consecutive Final Four appearances are good enough to finally turn them into championship contenders come the next season.
On Saturday, LPU could not ride on the crest of its four-game winning streak as it faltered at the hands of top seed Mapua University in their semifinal clash, 89-79.
“Actually, we had this game eh. Hindi lang naman Mapua ‘yung tumalo lang sa amin, but ourselves. Kasi kung titingnan mo ‘yung stats, talagang ‘yung foul shots pa lang namin we missed 18 [of those]. Ang laki n'un. And then, ‘yung turnover namin turnover points naman nila, which was 22. I know naman Mapua is not a pressure team and then magbabato kami ng mga ganun [na shots],” Malabanan told GMA News Online.
“It’s not [just] Mapua, but us. ‘Yung mga kontrolado namin [we couldn’t control]. But then, the game is done. I have nothing to say but good luck to Mapua,” he added.
Though the Pirates have proven themselves strong contenders for the playoffs, their recent fights would always end up one step short of their ultimate goal which is to claim their first NCAA title.
The last time LPU ever set foot in the championship stage was during the CJ Perez-led era that saw them vie for back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 where they lost to San Beda University.
“The effort has always been there. Pero kasi ‘yun nga ‘yung lagi kong pinu-push sa kanila. Palagi na lang ba tayong Final Four? Three times na kami nandito. Yes, we love that na nasa Final Four kami. Pero alam mo ‘yung kaya namin umangat eh. Pero ganun talaga, that’s basketball. We have to move on,” he said.
It also didn’t help the Pirates’ cause that reigning MVP Clint Escamis was behind the Cardinals’ early return back to the finals as he erupted for a career-high 33 points in their semifinal offering.
“The problem is we were not sticking to our game plan. Hindi namin nagawa [what we were supposed to do]. Mapua did great. But one of the reasons we lost talaga ay because of ourselves [our own doing]. The things we could've controlled talagang sinayang namin,” he said.
Despite the season-ending defeat, it didn’t escape Malabanan to commend his reliable guard in JM Bravo, who has been in and out of the season due to health issues including the time he fell unconscious on court in the second round.
This semifinal match was no different as it saw Bravo turn in a team-high 20-point, 10-rebound double-double effort despite suffering cramps towards the endgame.
“Grabe ‘yung laro ni JM [Bravo]. Pinulikat nga kanina. Actually, siya ‘yung pinakabigay-todo kanina. Again, sayang lang,” he said.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
