Maroons, Bulldogs stay hot

MANILA, Philippines —  Pacesetting University of the Philippines booted Far Eastern U out of Final Four contention with an 81-64 win in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

All but two of the 15 UP players scored in the win led by Aldous Torculas with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in only 18 minutes of play as the Maroons climbed to 10-2 card to boost their twice-to-beat hopes with two games to go.

Francis Lopez and Harold Alarcon threw in 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the scattered UP attack entering its last games against also-ran Santo Tomas and fellow twice-to-beat hopeful National U.

Later, NU (10-2) added to the piling woes of Santo Tomas (1-11), 76-65, to stay gridlocked with UP on top with fellow semifinalist La Salle knocking on the door with an 8-3 card for the coveted Top-Two finish and win-once bonuses in the Final Four.

Kean Baclaan (13), Patrick Yu (12) and PJ Palacielo (10) paced the Bulldogs.