By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WITH one of the top two slots in the elimination round of Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association already taken, the Lyceum Pirates try to advance their push for the remaining berth when they take on the San Sebastian Stags in a key game today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Second-running in the race with a 12-3 record, the Pirates look to create more separation from the chasing pack in their scheduled 2 p.m. game as they make a push to join defending champions San Beda Red Lions (16-0) as the higher seeds entering the Final Four.

Also playing today are the College of Saint Benilde Blazers (6-8) against the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (3-12) at 12 noon and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (4-10) versus the Perpetual Help Altas (4-10) at 4 p.m.

Intramuros-based Lyceum has been on a tear of late, winning all of its six games in the second round so far after absorbing back-to-back losses to end the first phase of the eliminations.

The most recent of the victories of the Pirates was over EAC, 83-71, on Oct. 4.

Lyceum had to deal with a spirited challenge from the Generals who were looking to fashion out an upset but had more to give in the end on the lead of guard Jaycee Marcelino to pull off the win that extended their winning streak.

Marcelino finished with 23 points on a solid on 10-of-11 shooting for the Pirates with Mike Nzeusseu adding 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Raymar Caduyac finished with 10 points and six assists for Lyceum, which is angling to make it to a third straight finals appearance this season.

In the last two years the Pirates have been runners-up to San Beda.

“We just sustained our run. We made some mistakes but in the end we were able to pull it off,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson after their win, which they hope to build on as they finish their elimination round campaign.

Meanwhile, out to stop the streak of Pirates are the Stags (8-6) who are also angling to get their Final Four push back on track.

Lost some ground in the race following three losses in a row, San Sebastian did itself a favor by halting its skid with a 62-59 victory over JRU on Oct. 3.

The Stags struggled versus the Bombers and needed to dig deep down the stretch to extricate themselves for the much-needed win.

Alvin Capobres led three San Sebastian players in double figures in the victory with 21 points on top of eight rebounds.

JM Calma had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds while veteran RK Ilagan had 11 points.

“The wins are just harder to come by now. We have to be ready each time,” said Stags coach Egay Macaraya, whose team is at solo fourth place at the moment.

NELLE IS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
In other news, San Beda point guard Evan Nelle is the NCAA player of the week (POW).

The league’s top player in assists, Nelle had a solid outing in their victories over the Letran Knights and Mapua Cardinals, averaging 13 points, 7.5 assists, four rebounds and two steals in said games.

His steady performance gave him the nod for the weekly plum given by media covering the league.

In winning the POW award, Nelle beat out Filipino-Canadian teammate James Canlas, Lyceum’s Marcelino, San Sebastian’s Capobres and Perpetual Help’s Kim Aurin.

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