Benilde, Lyceum begin 'The Big Dance' finals showdown

Games Tuesday 
(Amoranto Arena, Quezon City)
1 p.m. – St. Benilde vs Lyceum

MANILA, Philippines – NCAA powerhouse teams College of St. Benilde and Lyceum of the Philippines University clash for all the marbles in what should be an exciting finale of the very first Pinoyliga Cup “The Big Dance” on Monday at the Amoranto Arena in Quezon City.

The lone game between the No. 3 Blazers and the No. 13 Pirates is set at 1 p.m.

The two squads advanced to the championship match following contrasting victories in the semifinal round of the tournament last Friday.

St. Benilde survived a late comeback by Adamson University with a 70-64 win as Paul Turco led the Blazers with 15 points, while Justine Sanchez added 14 points and nine rebounds. Ian Torres had 10 points with 10 assists. 

Lyceum, on the other hand, downed Jose Rizal University, 64-57, as third-year shooting guard Ato Barba exploded for 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field with six boards.

“We’re happy that we got to the finals. Our mindset entering The Big Dance is we give it our best in every game since the format is win or go home — you win you get to the best stage, you lose you’re out,” said Lyceum mentor Gilbert Malabanan, who is now on his second season as coach of the Pirates.

“Against the Blazers, we expect a tough match up. It’s been like that against CSB even in the NCAA. For us, what we want to accomplish really — aside from hopefully winning the title — is to establish a winning culture that we can bring to the NCAA as we prepare for Season 100,” he added.

The winner, aside from becoming the inaugural winner of The Big Dance, will receive a handsome “perpetual” trophy worth P200,000 that will be retained if the first time winner wins it next year, or to be passed to the next winner.

If a team wins it three straight seasons, the champion gets to keep The Big Dance trophy for good. The said tournament — organized by the Pinoyliga Cup — is patterned after the US NCAA March Madness.