SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – Rookie forwards Mark Belmonte and Francis Lopez stepped up big for the UP Fighting Maroons as they took down the erstwhile unbeaten La Salle Green Archers, 87-76, to capture the 2023 FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup title on Wednesday, June 21, at the San Juan Arena.
Belmonte led all five double-digit scorers of UP with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including an impressive 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc, while Lopez connected on 7 of his 10 field goal attempts to wind up with 16 points.
Mythical Five member Malick Diouf, JD Cagulangan, and CJ Cansino scored 10 points each, while tournament MVP Harold Alarcon added 9 markers for the Fighting Maroons, who bagged their first ever FilOil Preseason Cup crown.
After a fast-paced, back-and-forth start to the game that saw a 22-all deadlock with 1:33 to play in the opening frame, UP went on a huge 23-4 surge bridging the first and second quarters to lead by 19 points, 45-26.
Lopez set the tone early for UP with 9 first-quarter points, but it was Belmonte who sparked the Fighting Maroons’ massive run as he dropped 12 of his 18 points in that crucial stretch alone.
La Salle managed to show some signs of life as it cut the deficit back to just 8 points, 46-54, in the opening seconds of the third salvo, but UP uncorked another fiery 17-4 blast, capped by a three-pointer by the red-hot Belmonte, to push its lead to its biggest at 21 points, 71-50.
The Green Archers continued to fight until the end, trimming the Fighting Maroons’ 21-point advantage to 9 with a minute left to play, 76-85, before Alarcon put the nail in the coffin with two free throws.
Evan Nelle, who is also part of the Mythical Five, topscored for the Green Archers with 19 points built on five triples, while Mark Nonoy contributed 13 markers.
Meanwhile, Mythical Five member Kevin Quiambao, who starred for the Green Archers in both their quarterfinal and semifinal wins, had a forgettable outing this time around as he was held to just 7 points on an awful 2-of-15 shooting.
In the battle for third place, the NU Bulldogs defeated the Perpetual Help Altas, 85-77.
Patrick Yu towed the Bulldogs to the victory with a well-rounded stat line of 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while Ian Manansala registered 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Omar John also came up big for NU as he posted a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.
On the other side, Jielo Razon and Carlo Ferreras produced 12 points apiece for the Altas in the losing effort.
The Scores
UP 87 – Belmonte 18, Lopez 16, Diouf 10, Cagulangan 10, Cansino 10, Alarcon 9, Abadiano 4, Briones 4, Torculas 2, Gagate 2, Alter 2, Torres 0, Felicilda 0.
La Salle 76 – Nelle 19, Nonoy 13, Policarpio 8, Austria 7, Quiambao 7, Gollena 7, Phillips M. 7, Abadam 4, Nwankwo 2, David 2, Escandor 0, Phillips B. 0.
Quarters: 30-22, 54-45, 75-57, 87-76.
– Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.