Arellano University and University of San Carlos registered a 1-2 finish in the zonal qualifying tournament to book a return ticket to the Sweet 16 of the Philippine Collegiate Championship League at the West Negros University Gym in Bacolod City .

The Chiefs completed a three-game sweep of the tournament with a 79-67 victory over the WNU Mustangs last night.

Arellano overcame a 30-point effort by Alfie Villariza, whose late scoring spree helped prevent the Mustangs from suffering a one-sided defeat.

Compounding WNU's woes was the fourth quarter ejection of Mustang Jeff Jacinto for a hard foul on Arellano's John Tayongtong.

The Warriors dumped the Holy Trinity College Wildcats, 86-63, to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record.

The Mustangs, who beat the Wildcats, 93-77, on opening-night, were actually on the verge of qualifying Thursday night. But they played sloppily and lost to the Warriors, 57-71, sending them into a must-win situation against the Chiefs, who placed fifth in the NCAA.

Needing to win at least by 11 points to advance, the Mustangs showed some improvement from their loss to the Warriors.

They kept the game tight in the first quarter with better ball movement, but suffered another power outage midway in the second period, allowing the Chiefs to gain the edge.

The Chiefs showed it can handle the best from the Mustangs, burying them with a torrent of triples in the last two quarters.

Arellano knocked in seven triples in the second half, each one dousing repeated comebacks mounted by the Mustangs.

With Adrian Celada and Gio Ciriacruz on the firing end, the Chiefs stretched a seven-point halftime advantage to 19 points late in the third period.

The Chiefs unleashed a 12-0 burst to pull away from 39-35. Back-to-back triples by Jerome Agustin and Ciriacruz sparked the breakaway capped by a Roldan Reducto undergoal stab.

The Mustangs' guns fell silent for a four-minute stretch in the third period and the Chiefs capitalized on their frailties.

The Chiefs built their biggest lead at 21 points, 70-49, on point guard Jerome Agustin's two free throws with 6:48 left.

With the outcome already settled, West Negros ' promising big man Raul Suyod and Celada produced the best highlights of the game.

Suyod made a two-handed dunk that got the crowd on its feet, before Celada's tomahawk dunk also drew cheers from the huge crowd.

Entering the game as the heavy underdog despite their home-court advantage, the Mustangs actually led early, 8-6, and trailed by just two, 26-28, midway in the second period.

The 6-foot-5 Suyod shot 16 points, his best output in the tournament. He also blocked a breakaway lay-up by Agustin and shots by Chiefs big men Ed Rivera and Ciriacruz.

Showing the form that earned him a spot in the NCAA Mythical Five, Ciriacruz scored eight of his 17 points in the first quarter. Ciriacruz accounted for three of Arellano's 11 triples.

It marked the second straight year the Mustangs failed to reach the Sweet 16.

The Warriors zoomed to an 18-2 lead and never looked back to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. USC bowed to San Beda in the first round last year.*

The Scores:

First Game

USC 86 – Hermosa 13, Duran 11, Padayao 8, Bercede 7, Padillo 6, Panerio 5, Bakker 5, Cantonao 5, Otida 5, Codilla 4, Vitug 2, Joven 2. HTC 63 – Desaville 21, Pragados 17, De Mesa 8, Versoza 4, Masana 4, Lamanilao 3, Landicho 2, Roxas 2.

Quarters: 24-7, 41-28, 65-47, 86-63

Second Game

ARELLANO 79 – G. Ciriacruz 17, Celada 15, Rivera 8, Agustin 8, I. Ciriacruz 6, Tayongtong 6, Reducto 6,Virtudazo 4, Apostol 3, Anquilo 3, Miranda 3, Catapang 0.

WNU 67 – Villariza 30, Suyod 16, Dapar 6, Lauron 5, Jaca 2, Sumido 2, Jacinto 1, Catalino 0.

Quarters: 21-17, 34-27, 58-42, 79-67

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