Battling against the number two seed, the De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) Green Chevrons is looking to hunt the gold medal in the 19th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) South’s championship game after finishing as last year’s runner-up.
Seconds after turning the ball over in the dying seconds of the game, Jed Claud knocked down a clutch three-pointer that served as the nail in the Lyceum of the Philippines University- Batangas (LPU-B) Pirates’ coffin as DLSL managed to get pass through the semi-finals round, 73-68, last Sunday at San Pablo Colleges.
“Malaki naman tiwala ko kay Jed. And knowing him, he always makes up for his mistakes,” DLSL Team Captain, Cholo Macario said, sharing his thoughts on Claud’s game changing shot.
Defense was the key-factor in the last possession as Chevron Justin Magnaye gathered a stop in LPU-B’s offense, enough to erase their twice-to-beat advantage that they gained after finishing the eliminations as the second seed.
DLSL’s Jeremie Capili lead the Chevrons in the scoring department as he cashed out 18 big points after draining all of his six three point shots. Additional help came with Cedie Raymundo’s 16 points, 7/10 field goal, and Jerome Gutierrez’ 12 points who acted as the pain in the Pirate’s interior defense.
Pirate August Lapasaran’s 21 points were not enough to hold the Lipa-based squad on going to the finals and revenge their 2017 campaign.
DLSL will face the number one seed University of Perpetual Help System Dalta – Binan (UPHSD-B) in a three game series that will start on February 19.
BOXSCORE:
DLSL 73: Capili – 18, Raymundo – 16, Guttierez – 12, Magnaye – 11, Macario – 7, Claud – 6, Rivera – 3
LPU 68: Lapasaran – 21, Axalan -13, Buen – 12, Fernandez – 7, Villaluna – 6, Solitario – 3, Eranes – 2, Saliente – 2
