UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) is making the most out of Season 78 of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament and is now on a remarkable 2-0 start.
And they did just that against De La Salle.
The Fighting Maroons almost blew another double-digit lead in the third period, kept their poise at crunch time and made the Green Archers’ strength this season a suspect via a 71-66 victory on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win snapped the Green Archers’ domination of UP of 10 straight dating back to Season 73. The Fighting Maroons also have not gone 2-0 since Season 68.
“I’m not surprised,” said UP Head Coach Rensy Bajar on his team’s unbeaten start—they beat University of the East, 62-55, on opening day on Saturday. “In practice, I see how they work hard and make sacrifices for the team to get better. Nobody expected us to be here but I’m not really surprised.”
Jet Manuel, who skipped last season to focus on his academics, led the Diliman-based team with 14 points. But his leadership was his biggest contribution in the closing minutes, when De La Salle chopped UP’s 17-point lead late in the third quarter.
“We’re really motivated for this season. The players know their roles. We’re still looking for more wins,” Manuel, who is playing his last season, said.
Paul Desiderio and rookie Piero Longa chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Fighting Maroons, who last beat De La Salle on August 22, 2009, 83-78.
De La Salle dropped to 1-1. Against UP, the Green Archers were a mere shadow of the team that booked a 67-63 win over defending champion National University last Sunday.
De La Salle main man Jeron Teng was off, hitting 10 points on a four-of-12 shooting. He committed a big turnover in the closing seconds, losing the ball to Agustini Amar at center court when the Green Archers were trying to cut a 67-61 UP lead further.
Paolo Rivero paced the Green Archers with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while rookie Andrei Caracut again hit double figures with 12.
Desiderio, Diego Dario and Gelo Vito, the hero in UP’s win over the Red Warriors, hit a three-pointer each to help the Fighting Maroons erect their biggest lead at 54-37.
They held a 64-51 advantage when De La Salle forced turnovers and converted easy shots to trim the lead to 59-64 with 1:10 left in the game.
But UP was solid from the free-throw line and managed to keep their distance, 67-61, before Teng committed a crucial error at midcourt and was whistled for his fifth foul on Amara.
Image credits: Kevin de la Cruz