UCBL cagefest: SSC, Olivarez enhance semis push

MANILA, Philippines – San Sebastian College and Olivarez College demolished their rivals Wednesday and bolstered their semis bids in the in the PG Flex Linoleum-UCBL Invitational Tournament Tuesday at the SGS Gym in Quezon City.

The Stags exploded for 33 points right in the opening quarter on the way to a 110-69 drubbing of Centro Escolar University Team B for their second straight win and third overall in four games in the seven-team preseason tournament.

The win tied San Sebastian with its Recto neighbor University of the East for the lead as the semis race starts to heat up.

Equally ruthless was the Olivarez, which dumped Ateneo Team, 95-68, to even up its record at 2-2 – thanks to Michael Homo who tallied 17 points, four assists and three boards in almost 20 minutes of play.

Reggz Albert Gabat led the Stags anew, scattering 24 points apart from posting three assists and two rebounds in just 22 minutes of action, while four other SSC players also finished in double figures.

The Stags were unforgiving to the very end, outscoring the Scorpions, 32-21, in the final quarter to hand the Mendiola-based CEU its second straight defeat.

Also delivering for the Sea Lions were Vincent Rocero (16 points and four rebounds) and John Umali (15 points and seven rebounds), while Jordi Gomez De Liano led the Eagles with 17 points and seven boards.