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Not even
a tropical storm that sidelined them for a week could
cool down University of the East’s game. Not even
against Santo Tomas U (UST), the tournament’s hottest
team.
The
Warriors caught fire late in the fourth quarter,
engineering a 20-5 run and taking away any hopes by the
Tigers of a dramatic late-game finish in a 99-82 victory
in the men’s basketball tournament in Season 70 of the
University Athletic Association of the
Philippines
Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
In the
second game, De La Salle held off Far Eastern University
(FEU)’s endgame run for a 74-66 win. The win pushed De
La Salle to solo second with a 6-3 record.
MARCY ARELLANO and the
Warriors choke Dylan Ababou and the Tigers in a 17-point
win yesterday.
--NONOY LACZA
JV Casio
scored 16 points to lead the Green Archers who bounced
back from a devastating loss to UST where De La Salle
lost the game in the final two minutes.
With
their losses, UST and FEU fell to third and fourth
places with identical 5-4 records, just a half game over
idle Ateneo and National U who sport similar 4-4 slates.
UE held
on to a 79-72 advantage halfway through the fourth
before Mark Borboran dropped seven points and Parri
Llagas chipped in four to lead the Warriors in the
decisive run with five minutes left in the game.
The
Warriors’ road in the preliminaries is unimpeded so far,
with nine victories accounted them in as many
assignments. UE last played August 12 when they beat
Ateneo, 73-68, before the league was forced to cancel
games because of inclement weather.
The
Tigers won five of their last six games coming into the
UE game yesterday, but they couldn’t match the Warriors’
firepower.
Llagas
scored a career-high 21 points, missing only thrice in
12 field-goal attempts. Borboran added 14 points and
seven rebounds. Kelvin Gregorio and rookie Paul Lee
combined for 25 points as well.
“My
players played with a lot of energy and fire,” Dindo
Pumaren said.
“The
burden is now on me and my coaching staff to make sure
that there will be no let-up, and that the players will
sustain our level of play,” the Warriors coach added.
“We’ll go for number 10 against [National University] on
Thursday.”
Though
UE’s record looks imposing, the Warriors’ remaining
schedule appears daunting. If they hope to gain a finals
berth outright by sweeping the tournament, the Warriors
will have to beat De La Salle and Far Eastern U in their
last two playdates.
Still,
UE has looked every bit a championship contender in its
last nine games, winning by an average margin of 16
points. Their victory over the Tigers, which completed a
season sweep of the defending champions, assured the
Warriors of a semifinal berth for a sixth consecutive
season.
The last
time the Warriors opened the season with nine straight
wins was in 1986, a campaign that fell short of the
championship after UE lost to University of the
Philippines in the title game.
Jervy
Cruz, the leading candidate for Most Valuable Player,
had 17 points and six rebounds to lead UST.
UST kept
the game close early. Khasim Mirza rained down one
triple after another and finished the first half with 14
points and four three-pointers. UE was up, 48-45, at
halftime.
After UE
started the second half with a 17-6 run that pegged the
score at 65-51, Cruz and UST teammate Japs Cuan keyed a
12-4 run that reduced a 14-point UE lead to 79-72 midway
through the fourth. But the Warriors appeared to have
brought an extra gas tank when they broke away with the
crippling 20-5 blitz to end the game.
UE
forced UST to 21 turnovers which translated to a 30-12
advantage in fast-break points.
WOMEN’S HOOPS: UP, ATENEO WIN
By Aileen Gabutina
Correspondent
UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) and Ateneo booked
contrasting victories over separate rivals yesterday to
remain leaders of the women’s basketball tournament at
the Blue Eagle Gym of the Ateneo campus, Quezon City.
The Lady
Maroons have shaken off the stigma of defeat to the Lady
Eagles last week, trouncing the De La Salle Lady
Archers, 56-48, while the Lady Eagles, enjoying a
home-court advantage, nailed a 56-53 win over the Far
Eastern University Lady Tamaraws.
The Lady
Maroons and the Lady Eagles share the lead with 7-1
records. Both are assured of at least a playoff for a
semifinals berth.
The Lady
Archers and the Lady Tamaraws, on the other hand,
remained tied for the fifth to sixth places with 3-5
slates.
Defending champion
University of
Santo Tomas,
on the other hand, trailed the leaders after beating the
University of the East Amazons, 66-59, in the second
match. The Tigresses have a 6-2 card, while the Amazons
rolled to their sixth setback in eight matches.
The
Adamson Lady Falcons moved a notch higher to fourth
place via a 52-39 crushing of the National University
Lady Bulldogs also yesterday. The Lady Falcons have a
4-4 card, while the Lady Bulldogs remained slumped with
0-8. |
