While UV-Mandaue dominated the entire battle against Cabancalan NHS that ended at 51-40, the Royal Oaks had to make extra effort before winning against host Tabok National High School, 70-63.
Royal Oaks had a bad start, allowing Tabok to zoom to a 12-2 run in the early goings of the game.
But ROIS stepped up in the second half, making big plays and tough defense with Mark Effelberger and Jason Durham leading the charge.
The defensive stuff put-up by Adonis Kalina, Jan Mel Cohiles and Jess Tingko also did wonders for ROIS that allowed their scorers to run some fastbreaks.
As the game came to its final five minutes, Tingko connected a rainbow shot to equalize the game to 57-all.
From there, the momentum completely shifted to Royal Oaks and got the win away from Tabok.
On the other hand, Don Gerardo MNHS takes the solo lead in bracket A after winning against Canduman NHS, 50-44.
St. Louis School of Mandaue opened their bid in MACABA with a win after dumping St. Joseph Academy, 57-23, victory while San Isidro bounced back from defeat after outsmarting Mandaue City Comprehensive NHS, 39-27.