‘Giant slayer’ Lyceum stuns Perpetual, keeps Final Four hopes alive

MANILA, Philippines – Lyceum sprung a massive surprise on a heavily favored Perpetual Help as it hammered out an emphatic 84-61 victory to breathe life into its sagging Final Four campaign in the 89th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City Monday.

Mark Francisco exploded with a game-high 18 points, including four connections from beyond the arc, while Shane Ko, Cameroonian Aziz Mbomiko and Wilson Baltazar scattered 17, 14 and 12 points, respectively, to seal the Pirates their fifth win in 10 outings.

Interestingly, Lyceum emerged as the only lower-bottomed team to ever beat the league's top four teams this season – San Beda, Letran, Perpetual and San Sebastian.

The Pirates shocked the Lions, 70-66, last June 24, the Stags, 60-55, last Aug. 26, all in the first round and then the Knights, 80-76, and now the Altas here in the second round to complete their mastery of the league's powerhouse teams.

"It's a big difference when your players are confident," said Lyceum coach Bonnie Tan in Filipino.

Defense did the trick for Lyceum, which forced the Las Pinas-based school to miss 44 of the 67 shots they attempted in the game including a nightmarish eight-of-33 clip in the first half when the former race to a 23-7 first quarter lead that ballooned to 53-23 at halftime.

The Altas, who were led by Earl Scotty Thompson's 16 points, fell to their second straight setback and fifth overall against 11 wins, which was good for third spot.

More painfully, the Pirates denied the Altas a win that would have catapulted the latter straight to the Final Four.

The scores:

Lyceum (84) – Francisco 18, Ko 17, Mbomiko 14, Baltazar 12, Zamora 10, Azores 8, Ambohot 3, Soliman 2, Mendoza 0, Lacastesantos 0, Taladua 0, Garcia 0.

Perpetual Help (61) – Thompson 16, Omorogbe 9, Arboleda 9, Ylagan 6, Dizon 4, Paulino 3, Baloria 3, Bitoy 3, Oliveria 2, Bantayan 2, Alano 2, Jolangcob 2, Elopre 0, Lucente 0.

Quarterscores: 23-7, 53-23, 75-41, 84-61.