The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons banked on strong first half performances to capture victories against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, Sept. 14, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, the UP Men’s Basketball Team (UP MBT) improved to a 2-0 win-loss record, while the UP Women’s Basketball Team (UP WBT) enjoyed their first victory of the season.
Winning ways
Fresh from their dominant opening day win, the UP MBT racked up another victory after weathering a late UE Red Warriors storm for an 81-71 beating at the maroon and red-shirt-filled Big Dome.
The Fighting Maroons commanded the pace right from the tip-off, notching a 51-percent field goal and 13 assists in the first half alone.
A sequence of last-second free throw shots from Terrence Fortea pushed the Diliman-based squad to a 19-point lead, 48-29, by the end of the second quarter.
The offensive onslaught continued in the third frame, with Francis Lopez pulling out a reverse jam to give UP its biggest lead at 69-42.
However, UE’s Ethan Galang and Precious Momowei connived for back-to-back hits that trimmed the Diliman-based squad’s lead to just 11.
Veteran guard JD Cagulangan stepped in big time, launching a trey off an assist from Francis Lopez to successfully fend off UE’s last-ditch efforts.
Cagulangan led the way for State U anew with a game-high 21 points built from five threes, while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists.
“Pagdating sa scoring, ‘yung tiwala ng teammates ko sa akin pati ng coaching staff. Ang kailangan ko lang gawin is magtiwala sa sarili ko,” Cagulangan said in the post-game press conference when asked about his motivations this season.
Harold Alarcon and Mark Belmonte provided steady support as they tallied 9 points each.
On the flip side, Precious Momowei went big for his team, engineering 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Dominant redemption
The UP Women’s Basketball Team (UP WBT) quickly atoned for their opening day loss after crushing the UE Lady Warriors with a commanding 67-43 win.
It was the Lady Maroons who took the driver’s seat on both ends of the floor all game long where they led by as high as 30 points.
Missing the presence of reigning UAAP Rookie of the Year and injury-riddled Favour Onoh, UP WBT head coach Paul Ramos stressed that the team has been adapting steadily.
“The upside of it [Onoh’s loss] is that everybody is so motivated and so inspired that I feel that the loss of Favour would be distributed among these girls,” said Coach Ramos in the post-game press conference.
“We have been adapting to playing without Favour but we still have a lot to improve on so that we can compete better against other highly-performing teams,” he added.
Achrissa Maw filled in the big shoes after missing only a shot to finish with 18 points and six rebounds, leading UP to its first win of the season.
Rookie guard Camille Nolasco also notched nine markers as 11 out of 15 Fighting Maroons scored at least two points.
The Lady Maroons established control right from the get-go via a 15-4 run led by Maw for a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Maw then hit a trey to start UP’s scoring in the second frame that proved enough for the State U crew to set the stage for a rout, 38-18.
At halftime, the Lady Maroons continued to dominate all facets of the game before a Kaye Pesquera three at the 8:29 minute mark of the final quarter gave UP a comfortable 58-38 cushion to seal the victory.
Meanwhile, Rachel Lacayanga topscored for the red shirts with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in the loss.
Both squads will face the National University Bulldogs on Sept. 18 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
UP MBT QUARTER SCORES: 25-13, 48-29, 69-49, 81-71
UP WBT QUARTER SCORES: 19-7, 38-18, 53-24, 67-43
