The UP Fighting Maroons charged past the feisty National University (NU) Bulldogs with a hard-fought 80-70 victory at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday.
In a game of momentum shifts and runs, UP’s early ten-point scoring spree was overturned by the Bulldogs, who headed to a lead of five after the opening frame.
State U turned up the heat in the second quarter with a stronger offensive against the NU squad. In their bid to overcome the Bulldogs’ solid defensive form, the Fighting Maroons struck a 13-2 run to take a three-point edge at halftime.
Both teams kept themselves within each other’s reach in the third frame as they struggled to land their shots. But it was a late 17-4 surge by the maroon-and-white in the final quarter that saw UP storm past NU in their tightly-contested affair.
Ricci Rivero delivered a breakthrough performance with 19 points, four assists and two steals, on top of former NU Bullpup Carl Tamayo’s 13 points and eight rebounds. The maroon shirts secured their second straight win in three games.
Michael Malonzo led NU’s valiant effort with 11 points and five rebounds in the absence of Senegalese standout Issa Gaye due to a heel injury in their last match against DLSU.
UP Men’s Basketball Team players Ricci Rivero, Joel Cagulangan and head coach Goldwin Monteverde were all smiles after their second win of the season over NU Bulldogs on March 31.
Rivero revealed how his confidence with their team’s system kept them afloat in a fierce battle with the Bulldogs.
“For me, we’ve seen many lapses still and we’re struggling pa. But siguro ang tumulong talaga sa amin is that we stuck with the system. I have so much trust in Coach Gold’s system and I was very vocal about it [on the court],” Rivero explained.
UP MBT lead tactician Goldwin Monteverde, who previously led the NU Bullpups to two UAAP juniors’ titles, sees several areas of improvement and untapped potential for his current squad.
“Well, siyempre hindi naman talaga dapat tayo satisfy since nasa third game pa lang kami. As we go [deeper into the season], we’ll continue searching for those things na dapat namin ma-improve as a team,” Monteverde said.
The Fighting Maroons are looking to extend their win streak to three against the winless University of the East Red Warriors on April 2.
QUARTER SCORES: 20-25, 42-39, 55-53, 80-70
