NCAA S87: LPU vs UPHSD

History Lesson:

It's the host school versus the guest school! (Again, there's no history yet as it's the first time these two teams will meet)

Lyceum Storyline:

The Pirates are riding high on the waves of positive emotion stemming from their first win. Against a short-handed Blazers team, the Pirates forced 10 more turnovers and pulled down 8 more offensive rebounds, leading to a large disparity in the hustle points statistics. Just about everyone fielded in by coach Bonnie Tan scored at least two points, showing that this squad does in fact have some depth.

 Stat to Watch: FT%; the Pirates managed to win in spite of the fact that they got just 16 free throws and converted only 9 of them. Now, their jumpers were falling (6/18 from 3pt, 24/53 from 2pt) last Monday, but when they aren't, people are going to have to start attacking the rim and hitting free throws.

Player to Watch: Allan Santos had a great game, a double-double of 19 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks, but that came against an under-sized Benilde team that doesn't really have an interior or post game. Now down the road that might be a problem for Lyceum, but Perpetual Help lacks size as well, with the loss of their big men Marlon Gomez and Paul Nuilan. Santos should have the greenlight to run 

rampant again in the interior.

Perpetual Help Storyline:

The Atlas got plastered on opening day, suffering the only blowout of the young season so far, losing by 30 to the defending champions. The status of Jeorge Allen and Anthony Paulino is still up in the air, but if these two guys can't play, then their bench becomes that much shorter and the question of where they can get points from becomes that much harder to answer.

Stat to Watch: 3pt%; the Atlas couldn't buy a bucket from outside yesterday, making just one in 17 tries. They rely so heavily on their outside shot that if it's not falling, then getting points inside becomes insanely difficult as the defense can afford to just stay at home and clog up the paint, preventing any slashing incursions.

Player to Watch: Jett Vidal; speaking of 3pt shooting, Vidal was 0 for 7 from outside the arc, and 2 of 8 from inside. If Allen can't play, then things really fall on Vidal's shoulders, and he'll need to score, and score a lot, if the Atlas are to have a chance at this game.

Prediction: Lyceum Pirates