Alpha Bah made all 17 of his free throws on the way to a season-high 36 points as Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas defeated Diliman College, 80-70.
They have set up up an intriguing quarterfinal showdown with University of Batangas in the Universities and Colleges Athletic League-PG Flex Linoleum Season 6 on Saturday, March 2, at the Paco Arena in Manila.
In his finest game so far, the 6-foot-5 Bah proved he’s not a one-dimensional player.
He went 5-of-11 from the 3-point zone and 2-of-6 inside, in addition to grabbing 10 boards to complete another double-double.
The Pirates started strong, then wavered a bit in the second round. But they eventually outscored the Blue Dragons, 19-10, in the third to regain the lead for good.
With the win, the Pirates finished 5th at the end of the two-phase elims. They have arranged a quarterfinals date with the UB Brahmans, who ended up fourth.
The first set of the quarters will be held on Thursday, with the UB-LPU tiff set at 2:00 PM, while No. 6 Diliman collides with No. 3 Olivarez College.
The No. 1 seed and reigning titlist Centro Escolar University will collide with No. 8 Guang Ming College on March 9, with the Scorpions enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage.
The second-seeded Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas will also have a twice-to-beat advantage.
There, it faces No. 7 Manila Central University, which closed out its elims campaign with a 90-79 win over Philippine Women’s University.
Bah was ably supported by Kurt Lee Laput and Bhencent Butural, who logged 15 and 13 points, respectively.
