OLIVAREZ College and Philippine Christian University-Dasmarinas made quick work of their semifinal foes to arrange a best-of-three title showdown in the UCAL-PGFlex Linoleum 7th Season on Thursday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The two squads, which finished 1-2 at the end of the two-phase elimination round, found no need for their twice-to-beat advantage as the OC Sea Lions nipped the Diliman College Blue Dragons, 63-60 and the PCU-D Dolphins ousted the ICC Blue Hawks, 79-70.
Game 1 of the UCAL Season 7 Finals is on April 3 still at Paco Arena.
Favorites survive scare
The victories didn't come without a scare, however, with Olivarez needing a clutch performance from Hanz Maycong before booking their fififth finals appearance in their seventh season in UCAL.
Maycong finished with 16 points – none bigger than the jumper that put the Sea Lions ahead for good, 61-60, with a little over a minute left as well as the game-sealing free throws with seven seconds left.
Jhon Patrick Panelo topscored for Olivarez with 19 points while Rodel Renon had 13 points and Hakim Njiasse hauled down 18 rebounds to go with seven points.
PCU-D, on the other hand, needed a huge fourth-quarter rally to shake off hard-fighting ICC, unloading a pivotal 11-2 run that turned a slim 67-65 lead into a commanding 78-67 advantage with two minutes left in the contest.
Ram Mesqueriola and Kingsley Anaba led the Dolphins with 19 and 17 points, respectively, while Dave Bagatnan added 15 to power their team to its first-ever Finals in the league.
Olivarez, which topped the eliminations with a 10-3 record, is looking to get over the hump and claim its first title after repeatedly settling for bridesmaid finishes in the first four tries.
For PCU-D, it’s been the closest they have gone to the championship since they joined the league in 2018.
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