By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – John Barba continued his strong performance for Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates. They defeated Mapua University Cardinals, 96-81, in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.
The former NCAA juniors MVP finished with 25 points, including four three-point conversions, to go with nine rebounds as the Pirates notched their third straight victory for a 3-2 win-loss slate.
Mclaude Guadana also made his presence felt with 16 markers, while Vincent Cunanan and Jonathan Daileg ended with 15 and 14 markers, respectively, for the streaking Pirates.
The Pirates were down 80-85 with over two minutes left before Barba, Guadana, Cunanan, and Daileg spearhead an 11-1 scoring blast to take a 96-81 advantage with under a minute left.
“Actually, hindi ko talaga tinitignan ‘yung mga win streaks eh. Lagi kaming nagfo-focus sa now, sa kung ano ‘yung ngayon. Basta ang importante lang is we win every game na nilalaro namin,” said Pirates head coach Gilbert Malabanan.
“We were very aggressive lang, offensively and defensively. Honestly, kaya kami nagka-score nang ganoon (11-1 run) because of our stops namin sa defense, and nagkaroon kami ng mga transitions,” he added.
Jeco Bancale finished with 14 points to lead the Cardinals, while reigning MVP Clint Escamis and Chris Hubilla finished with 13 points each. They dropped to a similar 3-2 mark.
Meanwhile, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Altas maintained their aggression from start to finish to defeat the slumping San Sebastian College Golden Stags, 60-52.
Christian Pagaran spearheaded the attacks with 12 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists, and a block as the Altas notched their second straight win for a 4-2 win-loss slate.
Cedrick Abis added 12 points, three steals, two rebounds, and an assist, while rookie Mark Gojo Cruz contributed 10 markers and four rebounds for the Altas./PN
