Lyceum leaned on the clutch shooting of second stringer Floricel Guevarra and another double-double effort from Allan Santos as it humbled Intramuros neighbor and a heavily favored Mapua side, 76-73, to regain its winning ways.
Coming off the bench, Guevarra fired his season-high 23 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter when the Pirates unleashed a game-changing run while the 6-4 Santos had 15 points and 13 rebounds to register his fifth straight double-double performance – a season best – to nail their third win in five outings.
“I’m very happy to get some big scoring contribution from my bench,” said Lyceum mentor Boni Tan in Filipino.
The Cardinals couldn’t live up to their strong pre-season billing and remained winless in three straight games while the Chiefs absorbed their third setback against a victory.
Promising Fil-Palestinian rookie Yousef Taha returned from a one-game suspension he incurred during a ball-throwing incident involving Leran’s Kevin Alas by contributing 11 points and six caroms but he too was helpless against the Pirates’ late surge. – Joey Villar