Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas outlasted defending champion Centro Escolar University, 62-59, in the battle of unbeaten teams in the Universities and Colleges Athletic League-PG Flex Linoleum Season 6 on Saturday at the Paco Arena in San Juan.
In authoring one of the best wins in the young history of the league, the Dolphins started strong and led for most of the exciting contest before coming through with a defensive gem in the dying seconds to extend their winning streak to five and boost their bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarters.
More than that, PCU-D handed CEU its first defeat in 18 games dating back to last season, which saw the Scorpions complete a 14-game sweep of the title.
Meanwhile, two-time champion Diliman College finally nailed its first win in four starts by clobbering Philippine Women’s University, 85-70.
Determined to make up for a forgettable showing last season, the Dolphins came fully prepared and motivated against the Scorpions this time – thanks to the inspired performances of Gaiel Escultor, Ram Mesqueriola, Joshua Dino, and Ngufor Toscannie Tita.
Though Dino managed only to split his free throws, slightly pushing their lead to 62-59 with still 12 ticks, the Scorpions failed to make a decent attempt as the Dolphins applied more pressure to pull through and grab the solo lead in the 9-team league, also presented by Angel’s Pizza.
It was Escultor who led the Dolphins anew, scoring 16 points, while the hard-working Mesqueriola added 12 points and 5 boards, and Dino had 8 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Daniel Marcelo was the lone double-digit scorer for CEU with 23, as the usually reliable Franz Diaz was held to 3 points.
