Despite starting on the same footing, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons found themselves on opposite sides of the trail in their clash against the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The men’s team denied Ateneo’s attempt at a comeback, booking the first ticket to this season’s semifinals with a 9-2 record, while the women’s team fell to its Katipunan rivals, finishing the week with a 4-6 slate.
Keeping the streak alive
After an early-season skid against National University and Far Eastern University, the UP Men’s Basketball Team (MBT) found its footing and never looked back, extending its winning streak to seven games after overcoming an early 12-point deficit to defeat the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 82-74.
With the victory, the MBT became the first team to clinch a Final Four berth this season.
In the opening quarter, UP struggled to keep pace as Ateneo came out firing with Travis Roberts and Kieffer Alas draining back-to-back triples to establish an early 8-0 advantage while State U remained scoreless.
Maroon forward Choi Palanca put the Diliman-based squad on the scoreboard with a layup, but the blue shirts immediately retaliated as Alas knocked down another trey off a Jared Bahay assist, 2-11.
The maroon shirts continued to struggle from the field, converting only five of their 15 attempts to close the first quarter trailing by seven, 13-20.
UP strengthened its paintwork in the second frame to catch up, with Dikachi Ududo’s jumper knotting the game for the first time at 36-all before Bahay spoiled the Diliman-based squad’s momentum with a buzzer-beating trifecta to restore Ateneo’s advantage heading into halftime.
State U seized control after the break, turning the game around with a 28-point outburst compared to Ateneo’s 18 to swing the momentum in its favor.
Maroon rookie Elliot Dimaculangan took charge of Diliman’s offensive surge with a personal 8-0 run, putting the Fighting Maroons ahead by 10 points, 63-53, their biggest lead of the match.
The Filipino-Canadian scored all 13 of his points in the third frame alone to give the squad a seven-point cushion, 64-57, entering the payoff period.
Both squads battled neck-and-neck in the fourth, trading baskets until the final buzzer but State U held off Ateneo’s comeback attempts as Jacob Bayla hammered down a dunk against the Blue Eagles’ full-court press to secure the first ticket to the semis.
However, the final basket sparked a post-game commotion on the court, with members of both teams and their coaching staff exchanging words following the buzzer.
UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde explained that he had instructed his players to keep playing until the final buzzer, citing the tight standings.
“Itong season this year, somewhat dikit-dikit ‘yong [standings]. So sinasabi ko sa kanila [palagi na] kung may tiyansa ‘til [the] end, try to make the basket,” the shot caller said in the post-game interview.
With their last three games of the elimination round coming against teams still vying for a Final Four spot, the twice-to-beat advantage is still on the line for the Fighting Maroons.
Despite the win, Dimaculangan acknowledged the team still has challenges to face ahead.
“Our last [three] games are big challenges, so we just want to prioritize practice and take every game as serious[ly] as possible,” the Maroon forward shared in an interview with Tinig ng Plaridel.
Veejay Pre led UP’s scoring with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks while Dimaculangan and Rainer Maga contributed 13 markers apiece.
Alas paced Ateneo with 14 points, five rebounds, one assist and two steals, while Bahay chipped in 13 points as the Blue Eagles dropped to a 5-6 record.
Navigating roadblocks
Meanwhile, the road back to the Final Four grew steeper for the UP Women’s Basketball Team (WBT), as the squad has yet to reestablish its winning form after absorbing another defeat against the Blue Eagles, 64-76.
State U kept the blue shirts within close range, with Blessing Francis sinking back-to-back layups to tie the game at nine-all before Tiani Abrams and Ateneo’s Junize Calago traded baskets from beyond the arc, 12-14.
Misfires and turnovers plagued the Fighting Maroons, limiting them to 18 points, while the Katipunan-based squad poured in 28 to put Diliman behind by 10 points at the end of the opening quarter.
Despite Louna Ozar and Kennan Ka’s offensive efforts that sparked a mini 7-3 run, the Blue Eagles maintained control of the game as they orchestrated a run of their own, capped by back-to-back layups from frontrunner Kacey Dela Rosa to send State U into halftime trailing by 19 points, 29-48.
Looking for a turnaround, the maroon shirts made a quick surge in momentum as they outscored the Loyola-based squad with 19 points compared to Ateneo’s seven in the third.
State U fired an 11-0 run highlighted by Kaye Pesquera’s double trifecta, narrowing the blue shirts’ largest lead of 21 markers to 10 at 43-53 before Pesquera closed out the quarter with a layup off an Ozar assist to cut the deficit to seven, 48-55.
Hoping to replicate their first-round triumph over Ateneo through a fourth-quarter surge, the Fighting Maroons became more aggressive, sending the Blue Eagles to the free-throw line, where they converted six points as part of an 11-0 run midway through the final frame, 50-66.
Abrams drained a triple backed by Maroons’ co-captain Shanina Tapawan’s jumper, narrowing the gap to eight with two minutes left on the clock, but the Blue Eagles were too far off with a Dela Rosa layup to end the match.
Pesquera commanded UP’s offense with 13 markers, while Filipino-French guard Ozar also tallied 13 points along with four rebounds and nine assists.
On the other side of Katipunan, Dela Rosa surged with a double-double performance of 21 points and 14 rebounds while Calango and Sarah Makanjuola contributed 15 points apiece.
The UP WBT looks to find its way back to the winning column to keep its Final Four hopes alive while the MBT hopes to secure a twice-to-beat advantage against the FEU Tamaraws on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the same venue.
