The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons tallied different outcomes in their third assignments for UAAP Season 87 against National University (NU) on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With a dominant 27-point win, the UP Men’s Basketball Team (UP MBT) now holds a 3-0 record, joining De La Salle University as the only remaining undefeated teams in the league. On the other hand, the UP Women’s Basketball Team (UP WBT) dropped to 1-2 after enduring another loss at the hands of the Season 86 silver medalists.
Hot hands
Fresh from a thrilling victory over the University of the East last Sunday, the UP MBT showed they mean serious business anew after making quick work of the NU Bulldogs, 89-62, to stay unblemished in the tournament.
Graduating point guard JD Cagulangan started the groove for the Fighting Maroons with consecutive buckets for an early 7-1 edge in the opening frame.
Capitalizing on the blue-and-gold team’s offensive woes, State U extended their lead to 15 points, courtesy of a Cagulangan trey at the buzzer of the first quarter, 29-14.
The second salvo told the same story as the Maroons continued to dominate the Bulldogs, with joint efforts of sophomore Mark Belmonte and team captain Gerry Abadiano pushing UP’s lead up to 30 points at halftime.
Though the Fighting Maroons were scoreless at the start of the third frame, Cagulangan sparked another offensive explosion for UP, resulting in UP MBT’s biggest lead at 76-37 entering the final quarter.
Despite NU’s last-ditch efforts in the last quarter, the Diliman-based squad’s comfortable 30-point cushion proved to be too much to overcome as they collected their third consecutive win of the season.
Belmonte emerged as the Maroons’ top scorer, scoring 12 points in the first half to build his career-high of 14 points, along with three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, while Cagulangan put up 13 markers, four assists and two boards.
“Basta kung ano lang ‘yong maitutulong ko sa team pag pinasok ako, ibibigay ko ‘yong best ko. Kasi ang lalim nga ng roster namin eh, wala namang mawawala kung ibibigay ko ‘yong best ko. Mas makakatulong pa ko sa team,“ Belmonte commented on his role in the Fighting Maroons’ deep roster for the season.
Assistant coach Christian Luanzon also lauded Mark’s development stating he was a late bloomer.
“The skill, the talent obviously [are] there. He’s long and he’s athletic, he can shoot from the outside, and also yung defense niya. ‘Yong naging adjustment niya the past few years—this is only in his second season—naging malaking bagay para sa amin… malaking bagay sa amin ‘yong pag-step up ni Mark,” said Luanzon during the post-game interview.
Missing the services of foreign student-athlete Mo Diassana due to a season-ending ACL injury, Jake Figueroa and Jolo Manansala were the bright spots for National U with the former producing 11 points and the latter chipping in nine points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Bulldogs untamed
Despite their relentless efforts, the UP WBT suffered their second loss of Season 87 after succumbing to the NU Lady Bulldogs in a lopsided 64-76 defeat.
A lay-up from rookie Alex Mendoza in the opening minutes gave State U its lone lead of the game, but National U quickly responded with a 5-0 run off of Aloha Betanio’s 3-pointer.
Facing a 13-point deficit heading into the second salvo, a putback from Christie Bariquit activated UP’s score surge as they rallied back into the game.
The Fighting Maroons proved uneasy to fend off as multiple steals were converted from the three-point line, with a runner from Bariquit bringing the game to a 41-all deadlock at the halfway mark.
However, the Bulldogs came growling back to life in the second half as they fired up a 16-0 run courtesy of Betanio’s long-range bucket to completely outscore the hapless Lady Maroons, 21-2 in the third frame whose lone score only came from the charity stripes.
State U mounted a late rally to cut down the deficit, 61-76, but it was ultimately too late against NU’s strong cushion that secured the victory.
Bariquit led the maroon squad with 14 points, three rebounds and two steals. Achrissa Maw also stuffed the stat sheets with 12 markers, three boards, three steals and a pair of blocks.
Meanwhile, Lady Bulldogs Princess Fabruada and Aloha Betanio tallied 16 and 13 points, respectively to lead NU to 3-0.
Both squads will vie for victories as they face Far Eastern University on Sept. 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
UP MBT QUARTER SCORES: 29-14, 53-26, 76-41, 89-62
UP WBT QUARTER SCORES: 12-25, 41-41, 43-62, 64-76
