Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas (LPU-B) did what others failed to accomplish, beating erstwhile undefeated Centro Escolar University (CEU), 79-76, in the second phase of the eliminations in the PGFlex-UCAL Season 8 basketball tournament on Thursday at the Paco Arena in Manila.

Foreign-student athlete (FSA) Alpha Bah starred in LPU-B’s sixth win in 10 games, scoring nine of his game-high 18 points in the payoff period as the Pirates held ground in a wild finish to hand the Scorpions their first defeat in 10 starts.

More than delivering the crucial baskets, the 6-foot-6 Senegalese threw fellow FSA Precious Momowei out of his comfort zone early, and with AJ Lacusong and Kyle Andrei Mitra doing their share offensively, the Pirates roared to a commanding 57-34 lead midway in the second quarter.

But the Scorpions refused to give up easily, cutting LPU-B’s lead bit by bit until they took a 71-70 lead on Mark Jade Sarza’s difficult basket that ignited a wild celebration on their bench.

The merriment was only short as Bah nailed his second and last triple of the game to restore order and end CEU’s comeback.

Despite the defeat, the Scorpions are already assured of a semis berth plus a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four even if they drop their last game against defending champion and second running Olivarez College (8-2) on Thursday next week.

In the other games, JM Garces buried a huge three-point basket in the last four seconds to lift Diliman College to a 79-78 win over Manila Central University (MCU) while Immaculada Concepcion College outlasted Philippine Women’s University (PWU), 72-69.

With their wins, Diliman and ICC officially punched their tickets to the quarters with similar 6-5 records. MCU will be joining PWU and University of Batangas for an early vacation as the Supremos dropped to 3-7.