Barba steers Pirates past Knights

Games Saturday
(Filoil EcoOil Arena)
11 a.m. – San Beda vs AU
2:30 p.m. – Mapua vs JRU

MANILA, Philippines – John Barba delivered his strongest effort to date as he willed Lyceum of the Philippines University to a 91-68 victory over Letran Friday and back into Final Four hunt in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

Barba struggled offensively after he missed 12 of the first 16 shots he took after the first three quarters before rediscovering his range in the final period when he erupted for 10 of his 19 points there.

He capped his strong performance by having 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals that propelled the Pirates to a 5-5 record and closer to barging into the magic four.

“Kailangan namin magpapanalo sa second round para makabawi kami,” said Barba, who led the league in scoring in the first round with an average of 19.78 points an outing.

Renz Villegas also joined the shooting parade with a match-best 23 points that he laced with three booming triples while John Bravo and Michael Versoza, back from injuries that kept them out for several games in the opening round, had 10 and seven points, respectively.

It was sweet revenge for the Pirates, who fell to the Knights, 78-66, just last week before deciding to serve the latter a dish best served cold—vengeance.

Letran stumbled to 6-4.

The scores:

LPU 91 – Villegas 23, Barba 19, Montano 16, Bravo 10, Versoza 7, Aviles 5, Cunanan 4, Peñafiel 4, Daileg 3, Moralejo 0, Paulo 0, Gordon 0, Panelo 0, Palingayan 0.

Letran 68 – Cuajao 16, Estrada 11, Javillonar 10, Miller 9, Monje 9, Santos 8, Nunag 2, Delfino 2, Montecillo 1. Baliling 0, Pradella 0.

Quarterscores: 21-21; 49-43; 70-61; 91-68.