Olympians live to fight another day

Maclean - relentless Intensity

The STI College Olympians came back to life in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter as the 4 time finalists beat the Lyceum 57-55 to stay alive for another final four berth. Norman Ihalas sank an all important three pointer to cut the LSB 7 point deficit to four and the Olympian's defense went to overdrive as they eventually silenced the Sharks guns.

Olympians fight for the ball

Ihalas then scored on a three point play and Jerald Bautista scored on a drive to give the Olympians the upperhand 53-52. Macky Macabasco eventually scored on a jumper to give the Olympians their biggest lead 57-52. The Sharks then scored on a basket to move closer 55-57 but eventually ran out of time as the Olympians nailed win number 12.

Crucial basket for the Olympians

The Olympians crawled back from a 14 point halftime lead as the Sharks dictated the tempo of the game by breaking the Olympians full court press and limiting the Olympians to only 22 first half points. The Olympians found it hard to break the Sharks zone defense as their outside arsenal and slashers were not in sync.

Norman Ihalas on the drive

The third quarter saw renewed energy for the Olympians as they tightened their defense and eventually some offense came their way through fastbreaks. The Olympians cut down the 14 pt halftime deficit to eight points as the Olympians put the cuffs on JC Collado who they limited to jumpers that eventually did not go in. Dimunitive point guard Renz Cruz provided quality minutes as he forced the LSB point to offensive fouls and more often gave them a hard time settting up. The Sharks eventually got some 24 second violation calls.

Maclean on the defense

The Sharks thought they were ready to coast to the victory until the three pointer of Ihalas rejuvenated an uninspired STI Team. The win leveled the Olympians with the Sharks and are just a cinch away for a play off for the fourth spot if they win against the AMACU Titans on wednesday. Good luck to the Olympians once again.

Norman Ihalas scores

STI (57) -- Ihalas 13, Carino 12, Bautista 6, Orias 5, Sabellina 4, Dagulpo 4, Antonio 4, Macabasco 2, Cruz 1, Po 0, Reyes 0, Pascual 0, Ablaza 0, Bocalbo 0.

Lyceum (55) -- Collado 14, Labadan 8, Postrado 7, Velasco 6, Ellano 6, Baydo 5, Carey 3, Valencia 2, Bilog 2, Bote 2, Espenelli 0, Carter 0, Ignacio 0.

Quarterscores: 14-16, 22-36, 39-47, 57-55.