UP overpowers UE; Adamson slips past UST

Games on 17 November:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
11 a.m. — DLSU vs Adamson
1 p.m. –– UE vs NU
4:30 p.m. — UP vs FEU
6:30 p.m. –– UST vs Ateneo
Malick Diouf reset his personal-best offensive output to power the University of the Philippines to an 83-69 victory over University of the East that assured the defending champion of at least a playoff for a Final Four seat in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Saturday.
The Senegalese center had another impressive outing with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting to steer the Fighting Maroons to their sixth straight victory and a 9-1 win-loss record on top of the standings.
Diouf, who punctuated UP's 12-0 blast to open the lopsided match, bested his 20-point performance against Adamson University last Wednesday. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and had four assists.
Meanwhile, Cedrick Manzano punctuated Adamson University's amazing comeback from a 19-point third quarter deficit with a game-winning three-point play to stun luckless University of Santo Tomas, 56-55, in the second game.
Down two points in the last 8.3 seconds remaining, Manzano caught the sideline inbound pass in a well-designed play off a curl for Manzano's and-one short stab.
He sank the bonus free throw to put the Falcons up by one with just 7.1 seconds left. The Tigers had a chance to salvage the game but JC Garing missed his shot as time expired.
Manzano finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds while Lenda Douanga had nine markers and 12 boards for the Falcons, who improved to a 4-5 record despite playing sans scorer Jerom Lastimosa and Vince Magbuhos.
