Pirates shock Knights in thriller

MANILA, Philippines – It’s another cardiac finish for the Lyceum Pirates.

Lyceum handed the four-peat seeking Letran Knights its second straight loss in the NCAA Season 99, stunning the defending champions 70-69 Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Trailing by one, 68-69, the Pirates — fresh from upsetting the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 85-81 in their tournament opener Sunday — turned up their defense with time winding down. They forced the stop, and John Barba went coast-to-coast and finished a layup to give Lyceum the one-point lead.

Letran, on the other end, spent too much time trying to find a good shot.

The ball landed on Kobe Monje’s hands, but his corner trey attempt clanked off as Lyceum secured the rebound and dribbled the time off.

Shawn Umali once again led the way for the Pirates, scoring 15 points.

Kurt Reyson had 17 for the Knights, while Monje and Paolo Javillonar had 13 and 10, respectively.

Letran led by as much as four, 67-63, late in the game, but Umali hit a three from the top of the key to cut the lead to a solitary point, 67-66.

Reyson, meanwhile, scored on a pull-up to give the Knights a 69-66 lead.

But, Barba scored four straight points to set the final score.

Lyceum is currently holding a 2-0 win-loss record, while Letran dropped to 0-2.