Lyceum enters zonal phase in collegiate tiff

Lyceum of the Philippines University earned a berth in the zonal phase even as University of Santo Tomas bagged its second straight win in the resumption of the 2008 Smart-KFC-PLDT Philippine Collegiate Championship wildcard tournament at the Makati Coliseum.

The Pirates, who were among the 16 teams who participated in last year’s tilt, pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat UCAA runner-up Emilio Aguinaldo College, 86-80, while the Growling Tigers dumped St. Francis of Assisi College in a tension-filled 64-51 triumph.

The victories enabled both teams claim top spot in their respective divisions heading into today’s final day of hostilities with UST needing a win against Las Piñas College to reach the next phase.

“Yung quickness talaga naming sa both ends ang nagpanalo sa amin,” said Lyceum head coach Bonnie Tan. “Masaya kami na makakapasok ulit kami sa next phase ng tournament.”

Edgar Difuntorum topscored with 21 points while Joseph Abaya added 17 markers as the Pirates pulled away from a slim one-point lead with under seven minutes in the game.

An 11-1 blast in a span of three minutes gave LPU an 81-70 lead as Difuntorum hit six points during that telling run.

Jon Santos led the Generals with 15 points with Julius Quiambao adding 12 markers.

On the other hand, Dylan Ababou recorded a game-high 30 points as UST, who finished a disappointing fifth in the recent UAAP season, led by a high of 19 points in the final canto, 56-37, after sailing through with a comfortable lead during the first three quarters.

St Francis, who captured the UCAA title in 2007, managed to trim a large margin into seven, 58-51, on a triple by Jan Dulawan with 2:19 left only for Ababou to convert a trey on the following play that virtually sealed the win.

A minor altercation with 35.2 seconds left in the game led to the ejection of UST big man Mel Gile and St Francis’ James Castanarez and Rex Leynes.

Leynes led the Doves with 19 points while Dulawan chipped in with 17 markers.

Meanwhile, St Clare College of Caloocan kept its hopes of making the zonals alive when they defeated LPC, 74-68, as southpaw guard Edu Mustre scored 25 points.

The Saints, fourth-placer in the NAASCU tournament, made a booming 25-1 run to end the second quarter as Mustre scored 23 points during that said burst.

Point guard Red Nacianceno added 14 points for St Clare while Blue Lions big man Sereno Cunial scored 20 points in a losing cause.

In another match, STI College forced a virtual rubber match with EAC for the final Group A slot in the zonal phase with a convincing 76-65 rout of De Ocampo Memorial College as Ramon Mabayo led the NAASCU second placers with 19 points.