Last season’s elimination-round meetings saw both basketball squads of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons fall short against De La Salle University (DLSU), but this time, both squads flipped the script and snapped their respective skids on Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
With the bounce-back victories, the women’s team leveled its standing at 2-2, while the men’s team advanced to a 3-2 slate.
State U takes aim
After conceding the opening basket, the UP Women’s Basketball Team (WBT) quickly seized the lead and never looked back, keeping the DLSU Lady Archers at bay en route to a 63-58 win.
The Fighting Maroons found their offensive rhythm early as senior Kaye Pesquera hung in the air for a floater, giving UP a 15-8 advantage.
However, defensive lapses plagued the maroon shirts, as they gave up 10 points from the charity stripe in the first 10 minutes alone, allowing the green-and-white squad to trim the gap to two, 18-16, by the end of the quarter.
State U broke away with an 11-2 run in the second period, sparked by a Blessing Francis basket, while defensive pressure from the Diliman-based squad forced multiple DLSU turnovers to build an 11-point cushion, 29-18.
Though the Lady Archers mounted scoring runs of their own, the Fighting Maroons responded to each push to protect their lead, with 5-foot-6 small forward Marielle Vingno draining a triple to cap off the first half with a 37-29 margin.
Picking up where they left off, junior Camille Nolasco came in hot for UP, drilling back-to-back triples before veteran guard Louna Ozar capped the run with a fast-break layup off a pass from Kennan Ka, 46-37.
Despite Zyla Lubrico’s triples that kept the Taft-based squad within striking distance at 48-46, Pesquera answered back with a buzzer-beater triple to halt the Lady Archers’ rally and preserve the Fighting Maroons’ 51-46 lead heading into the payoff quarter.
The Diliman-based squad carried its momentum into the final frame as Shane Cunanan knocked down a one-handed jumper before Ozar came up with a steal and converted an uncontested layup to keep the Maroons ahead, 57-50.
With State U’s perimeter game clicking, Nolasco once again buried back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to stretch the lead to double digits, 63-53, in the closing minutes.
La Salle threatened to steal the momentum late, cutting the deficit to five in the dying seconds, but UP leaned on its earlier cushion to withstand the surge and seal the victory despite going scoreless in the final stretch.
UP WBT head coach Eric Altamirano admitted that the squad struggled to score in the fourth frame but lauded the players’ discipline and cohesion in executing the game plan despite their offensive troubles.
“They played cohesively as a team. So whether that’s offense or defense, they never got frustrated when their shots are not falling in,” the veteran shot-caller said in the post-game press conference.
State U’s starting unit accounted for 55 of the team’s 63 points, led by Ozar’s breakout performance of 20 points, two rebounds, three assists and four steals. Meanwhile, Nolasco chipped in 16 markers, 13 of which came exclusively from the second half.
On the flip side, Bukky Ojo paced the Lady Archers with a double-double performance of 14 points and rebounds, while Kyla Go added 12 markers.
Maroons answer the call
Coming off back-to-back losses, the UP Men’s Basketball Team (MBT) was hungry to get back on track, securing a hard-fought 80-76 victory over the DLSU Green Archers in a later game at the same venue.
After succumbing to the Taft-based squad in both the elimination round and the Finals in Season 88, UP finally rewrote the narrative and put past heartbreaks behind them with a gritty victory.
State U set its footing from the tip-off, with co-captain Rey Remogat scoring a triple in the first 20 seconds of play that gave the Maroon side momentum.
Keeping the Green Archers at bay, the Fighting Maroons seized control early in the first quarter, building a 10-point cushion, 24-14, after rookie Elliot Dimaculangan came off the bench and drained his first three-pointer in the league.
The game tightened in the second period as both squads went scoreless for nearly two minutes before Maroon guard James Payosing broke the deafening silence with a shot beyond the arc, soon followed by a Remogat jumper, 32-22.
By halftime, UP stretched its lead to 14 points, 42-28.
DLSU attempted to catch up in the third, with nine of its 10 players contributing to its 25-point output in that frame alone, but Remogat spearheaded UP’s offense with 10 points to preserve the Fighting Maroons’ double-digit lead heading into the final quarter, 63-53.
A heated exchange between both squads ensued in the final quarter, as the Green Archers mounted a late rally capped by Jacob Cortez’s triple that handed DLSU its first lead of the game, 72-73.
UP then capitalized on the Taft-based squad’s foul troubles to mount a 7-0 run, converting five points from the charity stripe to seize a 79-73 lead and counter DLSU’s aggressive push to take control.
Despite Luis Pablo’s late attempt to turn the tide for the Green Archers, Remogat delivered the finishing blow to complete the revenge.
Remogat and Veejay Pre led the offensive efforts of the Fighting Maroons with 20 and 19 points respectively, while Dimaculangan chipped in 11 points in his UAAP debut.
“[G]oing towards this game, it’s more of a test of character for the team. Galing kami from two losses and nakapag-regroup ‘yong team. [F]acing La Salle after two losses [was a] big challenge for us,” UP MBT head coach Goldwin Monteverde said in the post-game press conference on the team’s comeback win.
Meanwhile, JC Macalalag chipped in a 17-point effort for the Green Archers alongside a steal and an assist.
The men’s team will face the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum before both MBT and WBT take on the University of the East on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
QUARTER SCORES
WBT: 18-16, 37-29, 51-46, 63-58
MBT: 24-17, 42-28, 63-53, 80-76
