CEU routs Olivarez, sweeps 1st round of UCBL elims

MANILA, Philippines – Centro Escolar University disarmed Olivarez College right in the first quarter on the way to a breezy 94-61 win and into a six-game sweep of the first round elims in the 5th PG Flex Linoleum-Universities and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL) Monday at the Paco Arena in Manila.

The Scorpions started hot, rushing to a 28-11 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play before putting their lead to almost beyond recall, 72-44, with still a quarter left to keep their unblemished record intact going into the second round.

Meantime, Philippine Christian University evened its record at 3-3 with an 84-77 win over newcomer Guang Ming College-Tagaytay while defending two-time champion Diliman College started its second round campaign with a 96-59 drubbing of Lyceum-Batangas.

Lenard Angelo Santiago led the mighty Scorpions with 25 points spiked by three triples, but it was the impressive all-around performance of Jerome Santos that the made the difference.

The high-leaping forward from Pampanga posted MVP-like numbers of 19 points, seven rebounds and the same number of assists while Henry Agunanne added 17 points and 10 boards.

The Scorpions were simply overpowering in their six games they posted a whopping winning margin of 39 points to underscore their readiness to win the crown since lording the inaugural edition of the league in 2016.

The Sea Lions finished the first round tied for second to third places with back-to-back champion Diliman College at 4-2.

Guang Ming finished with a 1-5 record — thanks to 77-68 win over the Pirates of Batangas in the opener.