The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons logged split results against the UST Growling Tigers as the men’s team remained spotless with a league-leading 6-0 record while the women’s team slid down at a solo fifth place at the UAAP Season 87 Basketball Tournament.
With their win, the men’s team is now on the brink of a first-round sweep while their women counterparts are seeking to recover from back-to-back losses.
Backup brigade
The UP Men’s Basketball Team (UP MBT) notched their sixth straight victory after taming the UST Growling Tigers via an 81-70 comeback win on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Despite the absence of veteran guard JD Cagulangan, the Fighting Maroons overcame a first-half deficit behind the contributions of their bench players who collectively dropped 55 points in contrast to UST’s 15.
UST drew first blood as their early offensive outburst led by Mo Tounkara put UP in the backseat, 16-23, in the end of the opening frame.
The Fighting Maroons regained their composure in the second quarter as their defensive pressure led into fastbreak points, sparking a late 5-0 run to put State U within striking distance at the half, 40-42.
UP’s engines were roaring to start the third period as they immediately went on an 8-0 offensive surge capped by a Francis Lopez reverse dunk within the first two minutes to gain their first lead of the game at 48-42.
As the tides started to shift to the Diliman side, the España-based squad retaliated, triggering a back-and-forth affair before Terrence Fortea’s late-period free throws handed State U a five-point advantage entering the final quarter.
In the fourth, UP amped up their defensive pressure as they limited UST’s scoring to just seven points, with Harold Alarcon draining back-to-back mid-range jumpers halfway through the period to ice the game for good.
Alarcon, who dropped a team-high 16 points and three assists off the bench, had full confidence in the team’s second unit following the absence of Cagulangan.
“Nire-ready ko lang din si Janjan Felicilda, ‘yung backup point guard namin, and si Terrence [Fortea] na kinakausap ko siya kahapon before practice na wala si Maimai [JD Cagulangan], anong gagawin mo?” the 6-foot-1 guard said during the post-game press conference.
“Ako din minsan nagkakamali din so nandiyan din naman sila Gerry [Abadiano], ‘yung ibang mga veterans na mag-back up sa akin kung paano i-lead ‘yung team,” Alarcon added.
Providing steady help was reigning Rookie of the Year Lopez, who filled up the stat sheets with 15 markers, six boards, two blocks and two steals. Fortea and Gerry Abadiano also chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
On the other hand, Tounkara anchored UST’s offense as he led both teams in scoring with 21 points on a 90-percent shooting efficiency.
So near yet so far
The UP Women’s Basketball Team (UP WBT) recorded their second-straight loss after yielding to defending champs UST Golden Tigresses, 60-84.
In the two squads’ first meeting since their Season 86 semis matchup, the same results unfolded as UP succumbed, but now due to UST’s killer treys as reflected by their 13 made three-point shots.
Early in the first quarter, sophomore Louna Ozar drained a three-pointer to energize State U, 7-6, not so long before Kent Pastrana responded similarly that slowly put the Tigresses ahead by 10.
Such was the last close encounter in the first half, but the heroics of Christie Bariquit were stubborn to answer with twin threes to counter the surging UST, 30-44.
However, the third canto was a different story as a synergistic UP crew, led by Kaye Pesquera’s 13-point outburst in the period trimmed UST’s cushion to just four.
However, what transpired after such a dream run was a forgettable fourth for State U as Tacky Tacatac erupted 14 points and spearheaded what became UST’s 17-2 insurgence, ultimately setting the stage for a rout.
Pesquera led UP’s offensive department with 20 big points, while Ozar and Bariquit scored 14 markers apiece.
UST, meanwhile, banked on Pastrana and Tacatac’s masterclass, engineering 21 and 20 points, respectively, to tow the yellow shirts to a 5-1 record.
Both squads vie to end round one of the tourney with a bang when they face the DLSU Green Archers on Oct. 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena, with UP WBT’s tip-off at 1:30 p.m. and UP MBT seeing action at 6:30 p.m.
UP MBT QUARTER SCORES: 16-23, 40-42, 68-63, 81-70
UP WBT QUARTER SCORES: 16-26, 27-44, 53-59, 60-84
