FEU hands UP first loss; St. Benilde spoils JRU's top-seed bid

Far Eastern University and College of St. Benilde played spoiler on Tuesday, knocking off playoff-bound opponents in the 19th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.

UAAP FEU snapped University of the Philippines' unbeaten run with an impressive 85-76 victory, denying the Fighting Maroons a perfect elimination-round campaign.

Mo Konateh powered the Tamaraws with 24 points and 13 rebounds, dominating the paint as FEU ended a three-game skid.

Kirby Mongcopa added 21 points and seven rebounds, including nine in a pivotal third quarter in which the Tamaraws erupted for 28 points. Trailing 44-41 at halftime, FEU outscored UP 26-14 in the period to seize a 67-58 lead before stretching the margin to as many as 15 points, 81-66, midway through the fourth.

Jorick Bautista chipped in 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Janrey Pasaol contributed 14 points and four rebounds as FEU improved to 2-3 in the preseason tournament.

Sean Alter provided a spark off the bench for UP, finishing with 19 points and five rebounds, but the Fighting Maroons still slipped to 5-1 despite already securing the top seed in the UAAP Group.

In the NCAA division, St. Benilde denied Jose Rizal University the No. 1 seed after escaping with an 81-80 overtime victory.

Allen Liwag delivered the decisive basket, scoring on a putback with three seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Blazers to a 5-4 finish. The reigning two-time NCAA Most Valuable Player tallied 20 points, five rebounds, and four blocks.

Justine Sanchez also played a crucial role, scoring 13 points and dishing out five assists, highlighted by the game-tying jumper with 27 seconds left in regulation that forced the extra period.

"We went to two of the guys we really trust. We went to Ian [Torres] and Allen. They're going to make a play out of that. Obviously, we trust both of them to make good decisions and make big plays, and Allen made the shot," said St. Benilde head coach Paolo Layug.

JRU dropped to 7-2 and missed its chance to clinch the top seed despite 17-point performances from Lawrence Mangubat and Sean Salvador.

Earlier, Arellano University finally broke into the win column after overwhelming fellow winless San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 103-78.

T-Mc Ongotan led the Chiefs with 17 points and three steals, while EJ Geronimo added 15 points and four assists as Arellano ended its nine-game losing streak.

Christian Ricio scored 14 points and Neil Castor added 12 for San Sebastian, which closed another preseason campaign without a victory.