LNU tops elims, 5 other teams enter quarters slot
DEFENDING champion Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) is proving that it’s not ready to relinquish its crown by thrashing arch-enemy University of Pangasinan-PHINMA, 89-78, last Thursday to top the elimination round of the 2010 PRISAA-UCAAP Inter-Collegiate Basketball Championship.
The LNU Dukes are holding a six wins and single loss card.
The Dukes, who suffered their lone defeat in the hands of underrated Colegio de Dagupan Blue Stallions on July 26, showed their old fury that made them champions by leading in all the junctures with Bolinao son Michael Indoy and Llyod Quisay dominating the rampage combining 17 points in the fourth and final quarter.
The Dukes, led by Indoy with a 20-point output, also controlled the board, 39-32, plus five block shots which made the difference in the game held at the at the Dagupan People’s Astrodome.
“We’ll try to win all our remaining games in the semifinals because our aim is to bag the twice-to-beat advantage,” said Dukes head coach Jason Vinluan. “Then after that, we’ll concentrate on the finals and hopefully we’ll be lucky,” he added.
Mangaldan-born Antonio Mejia pumped in a career-high 18 points including three treys while Quisay and Benjie Labitoria chipped in 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The 2005 titlist Flames finished the elimination round with five victories and two defeats to land third. Alexander Franieza and Marlon Ramos both scored a team-high 16 points apiece. Bryan Agulan contributed 13 and Erwin Cervas had 10.
In other games of the day, former champion University of Luzon Golden Tigers routed dark horse Colegio de Dagupan (CdD) Blue Stallions, 77-64, finishing second and garnering the same card as the Dukes with six triumphs and a loss. The Dukes scored the only stain of the Golden Tigers on August 2 in overtime to top the elimination stage through the system of win-over-the-other rule. Blue Stallions placed fourth and likewise enter the quarters berth.
“Our strategy was to limit the scoring of CdD’s top gunners Eugene Ponce and Melvin Estacio and we were successful. That made the difference,” said head coach Renato Vidal.
PAMMA battered and ousted luckless AMA Computer Dagupan, 91-55, to take the fifth spot for the quarterfinals while AIE-College stunned and booted out PIMSAT in a devil-take-the-hindmost match, 91-82, to capture the sixth and the last position for the quarters’ slot.
The quarterfinals start on Monday, August 16, at the Dagupan People’s Astrodome.
According to UCAAP executive director Seato Gonimil, pairings will be LNU versus AIE-College at 1:00 p.m., UL against PAMMA at 2:30 p.m. and UPang vs. CdD at 4:00 p.m.–JAGJr.
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