MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) Defending champion University of the Philippines continues to roll in UAAP Season 85, racking up a fifth straight win after demolishing Adamson University, 91-70, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Fighting Maroons improved to a league-best 8-1 in the men's basketball tournament, inching closer to a fourth straight Final 4 appearance.

They got a big game from Senegalese center Malick Diouf, who scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, five steals, and two assists in just 29 minutes of action. Carl Tamayo added 18 points, and five rebounds.

UP turned the game around in the second half, where they held Adamson to just 25 points. It was a costly defeat for the Falcons who not only fell to 3-5 in the tournament, but also lost two key players in Vince Magbuhos and top guard Jerom Lastimosa.

"Noong first half, hindi naman buong first half, masama 'yung tinakbo namin," UP coach Goldwin Monteverde said. "It's just, minsan we need to improve on 'yung decision-making namin."

"We would make turnovers na, you know, preventing us to get that continuous flow ng game namin," he added. "I think they made better decisions in the third quarter, [that's why] nag-improve 'yung offense namin noong third quarter."

Adamson was down by just one possession, 51-49, when Tamayo starred in an 11-0 run that put the Fighting Maroons back in full control. The reigning Rookie of the Year scored seven points in the run, including the three-pointer that pushed them ahead, 62-49, with 4:28 to play.

The Soaring Falcons would not recover from there, and their problems were further compounded when Magbuhos had to be helped off the court with 3:33 left in the third quarter after injuring his right knee.

Adamson then lost Lastimosa to a right ankle injury with 5:33 left in the game, with the star point guard needing to be carried off the court. Lastimosa had 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 28 minutes before getting injured.

UP's lead would balloon to 22 points, 91-69, off a layup by Diouf with 39.6 seconds left in the game.

Cedrick Manzano was the only other player in double-digits for Adamson, with 10 points. The Soaring Falcons committed 18 turnovers that led to 22 points for UP; they also gave up 26 free throws with the Maroons making 20 of them.

The Scores:

UP 91 -- Diouf 20, Tamayo 18, Lucero 14, Fortea 12, Alarcon 9, Cagulangan 8, Galinato 8, Spencer 1, Calimag 1, Gonzales 0, Abadiano 0, Ramos 0.

ADAMSON 70 -- Lastimosa 19, Manzano 10, Sabandal 9, Douanga 8, V. Magbuhos 8, Yerro 7, Hanapi 5, Colonia 3, Barcelona 1, Flowers 0, Jaymalin 0, Torres 0, Barasi 0, Fuentebella 0, W. Magbuhos 0.

Quarters: 28-25, 50-45, 69-57, 91-70.