The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons conquered the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers with a 96-67 victory at the Mall of Asia Arena on April 28.
UP maintains their second place standing with an 11-2 record, ahead of their clash with the top-seeded Ateneo Blue Eagles to close out the elimination round.
State U made quick work of UST’s struggling offense in the first quarter to take an early 15-point lead, 26-11.
Ricci Rivero and Zavier Lucero took charge of UP’s relentless offense as they combined for 23 points in the first half. The maroon shirts stretched the lead even further to 20 points by the end of the second frame, 53-33.
The Fighting Maroons maintained their strong momentum to the closing stages, where rookie player RC Calimag pushed State U its biggest lead of the match at 33 points.
Despite UST’s late charge to mount a comeback, UP eliminated the Growling Tigers from Final Four contention with a 29-point victory.
UP Men’s Basketball Team players Carl Tamayo and CJ Cansino, and head coach Goldwin Monteverde speak to the media after their win against UST on April 28.
After recovering from a mild injury, CJ Cansino bounced back with 14 points, five rebounds and two assists. The former Tiger delivered a versatile performance for State U in their penultimate match of the elimination round.
Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde stressed the squad’s much-needed momentum and collective team effort ahead of the Final Four.
“‘Yung momentum namin as a team, gumaganda na ‘yung takbo [at] effort namin. Against Ateneo, it would be tested [and] it would be a challenge with whatever we’re working on right now”, said Monteverde.
The Fighting Maroons aim to finish off the elimination round strong in a “Battle of Katipunan” against the Blue Eagles on May 1.
A win for UP would prevent Ateneo from completing the season sweep and claiming an outright Finals berth.
But victory for the Blue Eagles leads to a stepladder final four format, where the Fighting Maroons hold a twice-to-beat edge over the winner of the knockout match between the third- and fourth-seeded teams.
QUARTER SCORES: 26-11, 53-33, 73-53, 96-67
