The Maroons take on the UST Growling Tigers in the UP UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament. –Marlo Cueto/INQUIRER.net
The University of the Philippines asserted its dominance over the University of Santo Tomas with a landslide victory in the preliminary round of the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
The Fighting Maroons are coming off a 68-56 loss to rival La Salle in the first round, with Francis Lopez scoring 20 points on 8-of-9 field goals and grabbing 7 rebounds.
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“Last week was a tough loss for us, but we came here to bounce back and we did that,” Lopez said after UP improved to a 7-1 record, matching current league leader La Salle. spoke. “It’s a real boost as a team. I hope we can get that done in the next game.”
Read: UAAP: UP aims to improve execution after first loss
Terrence Fortea lit up the game with 14 of his 16 points in the second half, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, allowing UP to pad its cushion. Harold Alarcón had 11 points and Quentin Mirola-Brown had 10 points and six rebounds.
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The Fighting Maroons, led by Goldwyn Monteverde, are 8-0 against the UST Growing Tigers since taking over in 2022.
“Be consistent with what we always said in the first round and respond to the challenges in front of us. I think the team forced UST to miss shots most of the time, just like they did in the first half.” Coach Goldwyn Monteverde said. “But then they were able to control the offensive rebounds. So I think the team worked together to control the rebounds in the second half.”
Maroons’ Terrence Fortaire fights during a game against the UST Growling Tigers in the UP UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament. –Marlo Cueto/INQUIRER.net
Christian Manaitai hit a triple at the end of the third quarter to give UST the lead, which the Maroons quickly erased with a 16-5 run that started with a powerful dunk by Dikachi Udud.
Fortea, JD Cagurangan, Quentin Milola-Brown and Mark Belmonte were also involved in this ferocious run that put UST in a deep hole from which they could no longer climb out.
Read: UAAP: Francis Lopez after UP-La Salle game: ‘One action became personal’
UST’s Tunkara hit a long two, then Fortea hit a triple in quick succession.
“In the first half [UST] We had a high number of second-chance points, so we resolved that in the second half. In the fourth offense, we just took advantage of what the defense gave us,” Fortea said.
Tunkara still shot well, scoring 10 of his 17 points and scoring 24 points along with nine rebounds. Nick Cabanero matched Tunkara’s performance with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Manaitai added 12 points as the Tigers fell to 4-4.
They will aim for their second straight win at East Taisen on Oct. 23 after the league rescheduled the Oct. 20 game at the Quadricentennial Pavilion due to the UST entrance exam.
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Meanwhile, UST will play a short game next Wednesday as they face another league powerhouse, La Salle, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
