What can Lyceum do to come back in Game 2?

MANILA, Philippines – The Lyceum Pirates looked tentative and well, lacked in intensity in playing the San Beda Red Lions. Without their leader CJ Perez, they struggled mightily in the 73-60 loss. The scoreline is a lot closer than it actually was. It wasn’t. The Pirates were blown out and looked rudderless. 

How do you replace a rudder of a player in Perez? It isn’t solely about the points. It is the entire package — scoring, rebounding, defense, hustle, the ability to read plays before they happen, and a singular desire to win that is reserved for players like Robert Bolick Jr., Kiefer Ravena and the few like them.

That suspension — violation or not — was cruel. In the light of even Perpetual Help’s transgression (players unmindful of their residency year), this was a joke. It meant putting LPU on the backheel even before the finals. Is there enough time to mentally recover? Not even. This is the second time they have had to deal with some cockamie call. There was that game against Letran where a triple was downgraded to a two-point bucket. The elapsed time in getting the right call also hurt LPU on offense.

I told a coach that the Pirates needed to burst out of the gate from the opening tip. Why did they need to do that? Well, it would give them confidence to get the job done without Perez. It would give San Beda cause for doubt. 

But no such luck. 

The haphazard play in the first quarter did not help. As we pointed, some of the Pirates tend to play out of control. Against lesser teams, they can get away with it, but against teams with a system such as San Beda, College of St. Benilde and Letran, you are asking for trouble. And as a result, the Red Lions had a 21-9 advantage in turnover points. 

San Beda played the perfect game with everyone on fire. Their three swingmen in Jayvee Mocon, Robert Bolick Jr. and Clint Doliguez attacked at will and paved the way for the huge leads they commanded. Just as they did in the second round encounter with LPU, the Red Lions immediately attacked the interior of the Pirates notwithstanding the presence of Mike Nzeusseu. All they need to do is move that ball around and attack. 

Granted LPU played better in the second half — let’s correct this, in the fourth period, but the game was already won after the third when no headway was made into chopping down that lead — the loss still puts them a game down. And they are staring at a second successive finals sweep at the hands of SBU.

And now, their backs are against the wall. Game Two is a must-win situation. 

Not only do they need Perez to be his superhuman self but they need to own that paint. Right before the start of the season, I thought that the lack of an inside scoring force was going to hurt Lyceum. I was a bit surprised they did not list Germy Mahinay (who then joined UST) on the roster that was instead stacked with a lot of guards and tweeners. They needed ceiling. SBU on the other hand has a lot of bigs who can play; hence, a more balanced line-up. 

But that’s done. What can LPU do to make a series out of this?

LPU should start like gangbusters come Game Two. If they can build a sizeable lead and hold on to it, that will help them. The Pirates have been slow starters this season. You saw that happen even against lesser foes. Holding leads will help their confidence.

There is the usual win the rebounding battle, score inside… but outside holding a lead, I’d say what they need to do is to be more efficient on offense. I think they waste too many shots. When you aren’t scoring, your defense will eventually give way because there is only so much you can do. Now San Beda has a plethora of scorers; studs even. One player might have a bad day at the office, but not everyone. 

Again, I always felt that there is a lack of efficiency in LPU’s offense because of the speed in which they play. I cringe when I see some of them just throw caution to the wind and toss up all sorts of shots. Well, not against the defending champs who are well-coached and organized. 

So I’d point out three things: one, everyone raising the level of their play because what they have done in their last two outings against SBU hasn’t worked; two, getting a good start; and three, playing more efficiently. 

If they do that, I’d say they have a chance to sending this to a Game Three.