THE league-leading Lyceum Pirates go for their eight straight victory today in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, taking on the Letran Knights in a scheduled match for 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
It is a game that the Pirates (7-0) are bracing for as they are expecting not to have it easy against a very competitive Letran crew which until its loss to defending champions San Beda Red Lions last time around was on a roll.
“This game is big for us. Letran is a veteran team. They really beefed up in the offseason. They have a champion coach in Jeff Napa and respect to them because they have won a lot of championships,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson when asked for his thoughts on their match against Letran.
He went on to say that they will take the game as it is, adjusting how they see it fit and hopefully come out on top and preserve their unblemished record.
“At the end of the day we don’t have control of how our opponents play but we can control ours. They have a deliberate style of play, so it’s a battle of contrasting styles and we’re excited to play them,” he said.
The Pirates are coming off a 77-65 victory over the College of St. Benilde Blazers on Aug. 7 where they were challenged but proved to be a handful down the stretch to book their seventh win in as many games.
CJ Perez led Lyceum with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Mike Nzeusseu added 16 and 13.
“There’s always going to be a challenge. There’s always going to come a time where we have to push ourselves to the limit and do our best and I’m glad my boys didn’t give up on this one,” said Mr. Robinson said following their hard-earned win.
BOUNCE BACK
Letran, meanwhile, looks to bounce back after having its four-game winning streak snapped by San Beda in overtime, 80-76, on Aug. 10.
The Knights (4-2) had the Lions on their backs as regulation expired but just could not complete the job to absorb their second defeat of the season.
Bong Quinto had 21 points while JP Calvo and Jio Ambohot had 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the loss.
Opening seniors play today is Arellano Chiefs (3-3) vs. St. Benilde (3-4) at 12 noon to be followed at 2 p.m. by Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (2-5) against Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (0-7). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
