Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) – The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons escaped a late-game rally by the De La Salle University Green Archers to register a close 72-69 win on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Maroons led by as much as 16 points, and controlled the offense almost the entire game until La Salle crept back.
After Maroons center Malick Diouf converted an easy lay-up for a 71-59 score under the final two minutes, Archers guard Schonny Winston came out on fire, scoring the next eight points of La Salle via two crucial jumpers and four made free throws.
UP’s rookie sensation Carl Tamayo – who logged 23 points and 11 rebounds in the match – uncharacteristically missed two foul shots, while La Salle cager Michael Phillips made a put-back in the next play which put the Archers just two points, 69-71, in the final 10.5 seconds of the contest.
After the timeout, UP star guard Ricci Rivero was fouled and split his two charity shots.
Mark Nonoy – who was the clutch guy in La Salle’s escape win over winless University of the East last Thursday – had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed his three-point shot in the last play, which literally left him in tears.
“This game was very different from our last game. The ball movement from the start, we were sharing the ball and hitting the open man. The things that we’re really working on, we saw it in this game,” said UP coach Goldwin Monteverde, as the Maroons bounced back from their defeat versus Adamson University which snapped their eight-game winning streak.
Diouf finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Maroons while Rivero contributed 11 markers and eight boards.
UP secured a Final Four berth as they retained their place in second spot of the UAAP Season 84 team standings with a 9-2 slate, while La Salle remains at third with a 7-4 record.
Winston and Balti Baltazar both scored 16 points for La Salle, with the latter adding 12 rebounds and five assists to his name.
The Maroons will take on the winless UE squad on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. while the Green Archers will tangle it up with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws earlier at the 10 a.m. game.
The Scores:
UP 72 – Tamayo 23, Diouf 15, Rivero 11, Lucero 9, Fortea 8, Cagulangan 4, Spencer 2, Abadiano 0, Cansino 0, Alarcon 0, Lina 0.
LA SALLE 69 – Baltazar 16, Winston 16, Lojera 13, M. Phillips 8, Nelle 7, Nonoy 7, B. Phillips 2, Manuel 0, Escandor 0, Nwankwo 0, Cuajao 0.
Quarterscores: 18-17, 42-31, 56-49, 72-69.
