University of the Philippines opened the second round with a huge win as it fended off a gritty fightback from National University to grab an 84-76 victory, capturing its seventh straight victory in the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament, Tuesday morning at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The winning streak is UP’s longest in the ‘Imperium’ era of the league.
But UP needed to work once more to get this one.
The Fighting Maroons had a strong start to the game as they eventually gained the upper hand over the Bulldogs. Goldwin Monteverde’s squad stretched the lead to as much as 15 points when they held a 38-23 advantage at the 4:56 mark of the second quarter. However, the Bulldogs also had a run of their own to cut the lead down to seven at the half.
Come the third quarter, NU was able to sustain its momentum as it further trimmed the deficit to 58-62 heading into the final frame. However, UP answered back with a 10-0 run of its own to start the fourth quarter courtesy of Ricci Rivero, Carl Tamayo, and Zavier Lucero.
The Fighting Maroons then regained control of the game to pull away and secure a methodical win over the Bulldogs.
“We started strong nung first quarter, siguro sa lahat ng games namin dito kami nakapag-start ng madiin talaga. But sa third quarter, dumami ‘yung turnovers namin so we need to see what errors to improve pa rin,” Monteverde said. “Definitely, coming from this win meron pa kaming ma-lelearn eh. Kailangan lang namin makita to move on.”
It was mainly UP’s starters who did the heavy lifting for this game as they scored a total of 60 points as compared to NU’s 41.
Carl Tamayo led the Fighting Maroons with 21 points while Ricci Rivero and Zavier Lucero added 16 markers apiece. Joel Cagulangan came out with seven points, eight assists, three rebounds, and a steal in close to 27 minutes of action.
CJ Cansino did not play in the game due to a sprained right finger and palm contusion.
On the other hand, John Lloyd Clemente bannered the Bulldogs with 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Reyland Torres followed with 15 points while Shaun Ildefonso contributed 11 points of his own.
Both schools shall next play on Tuesday at the SM MOA Arena. University of the Philippines (7-1) takes on Far Eastern University (3-4) at 10:00 AM while National University (4-4) faces off against Adamson University (1-6) at 7:00 PM.
The Scores:
UP 84 – Tamayo 21, Rivero 16, Lucero 16, Cagulangan 7, Diouf 7, Alarcon 5, Webb 5, Fortea 3, Abadiano 0, Spencer 0, Catapusan 0
NU 76 – Clemente 18, Torres 15, Ildefonso 11, Malonzo 9, Minerva 8, Felicilda 5, Gaye 4, Joson 2, Figueroa 2, Manansala 2, Tibayan 0, Enriquez 0, Mahinay 0
Quarterscores: 26-14, 42-35, 62-58, 84-76.
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