NCAA S87: LPU vs CSB

History Lesson:
Playing without a flu-stricken Carlo Lastimosa, the short-handed CSB Blazers were ambushed by guest team Lyceum, in their NCAA debut. Up 38-30 at the half, Ian dela Paz and Mark Romero pulled CSB to within two out of the break, but Chris Cayabyab stymied that rally and then Allan Santos took over in the fourth quarter with 13 of his 19 points, handing the Pirates their first victory, 75-63. (Recap here) 

What's at Stake:

• Both these squads are currently at 6-11. A win ties the victor with the 7-11 MIT Cardinals for fifth, which would allow the head coach to say, "Hey, we finished a slot out of the Final Four. We can build on this!" 

LPU Stat to Watch : Lyceum's schedule gave them San Beda and San Sebastian consecutively, which led to predictably horrible results, as the Pirates were held to just 67.5 points and 32.68 percent shooting. That stands in direct contrast to Benilde's defense, which concedes 77.94 points and 41.88 percent from the field, so the Pirates ought to be able to score on the Blazers.
LPU Player to Watch : Chris Cayabyab had a superb debut against CSB, with his best shooting game of the season, 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He'll look to reprise that in the final game of the season after getting held to just seven points, 3 of 17, against San Sebastian.

CSB Stat to Watch : As a revamped team, playing without their best player, the season opener of the Blazers had them turning the ball over 26 times, as they clearly hadn't gotten used to playing with one another. They've normed 16.81 mistakes since then, although they notched 25 against EAC in their last outing.
CSB Player to Watch : Sitting out the first game, Carlo Lastimosa was unable to engage Chris Cayabyab in a scoring duel, and though his numbers are down from his rookie of the year season last year, Lastimosa is still an explosive threat, especially if Jonathan Grey won't play again.

Prediction: LPU Pirates