Olivarez College got back at defending champion Diliman College, 63-56, while Centro Escolar University streaked to its 7th straight win in the 5th PG Flex Linoleum-Universities and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL) Monday, at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Putting their 79-59 defeat to the Blue Dragons in the first round behind, the Sea Lions banked heavily on a strong first-half show. They exacted revenge and improved their record to 5-3 in the seven-team tournament.
The Scorpions, on the other hand, exploded for 31 points in the second quarter on the way to another breezy 110-67 win over the hapless Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas in the second round.
In the other game, Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas drew level with Olivarez College after outlasting Guang Ming College-Tagaytay, 89-82.
With Edmund Dela Cruz leading the way, the Sea Lions enjoyed a huge 42-20 advantage at halftime before the Blue Dragons made a desperate attempt to turn the game around in the final half to no avail.
In another impressive show, Dela Cruz tallied 13 points and 12 boards as Olivares snapped Diliman’s three-game winning run. Diliman slipped to 6-3.
Up by just nine points after the opening frame, the Scorpions zoomed to a 55-34 half-time advantage before practically sewing up the match with a quarter left as they further hiked their lead to 79-50.
Showing no mercy, CEU unloaded 31 more points in the final frame as the team’s second unit also delivered.
Lenard Angelo Santiago was almost unstoppable for CEU with 27 points after knocking down nine triples in just 22 minutes of action.
CEU also mauled Lyceum, 117-60, in the first round.
