The Lyceum Pirates can sense it. They can feel that they are close to a historic 18-game sweep.
Coach Topex Robinson said this after the Pirates swamped the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 86-74, last night at the Arena in San Juan.
Their 14th straight victory put the Pirates closer to an outright finals berth in the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.
For now, the Pirates have formally earned a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four.
And four more wins will bring them to a date with history.
An 18-game sweep will give them an outright seat to the finals, and a thrice-to-beat incentive.
“It's there. It's in front of us. And all the games that we are now going to play are going to be crucial,” said Robinson.
The San Beda Red Lions pulled off an 18-0 was in season 86 when they came off with 16-game sweep of the eliminations and then beat the San Sebastian Stags twice in the finals.
This time, the Pirates will have to take a longer route since there are now 10 teams in the league, instead of eight.
Jesper Ayaay showed the way for the Pirates with 18 points and nine rebounds while Jaymar Perez added 13 points and seven boards, and Jaycee Marcelino contributed 11.
The Pirates started strong, with Kim Cinco’s triple helping them establist a 6-0 lead in the last 6:24 of the first period.
They then gained a 19-12 edge behind Ayaay’s layup in the last 2:42, and on their way to a 29-19 edge at the end of the period.
With the Pirates going 47.83 percent on their field goals in the first half, they went on to grab 54-39 spread before the third quarter began.
Jerome Garcia had 17 points for the Generals, who picked up their eighth loss in 14 outings.