Final Four-bound UP nears twice-to-beat bonus, routs also-ran UST anew

MANILA, Philippines – The UP Fighting Maroons found little to no trouble reasserting their dominance over the lowly UST Growling Tigers, pulling away for an 86-61 rout to strengthen its UAAP Final Four twice-to-beat bid at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, November 15.

Recognizing an opportunity to boost the bench’s confidence, UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde leaned on seldom-used forward Chicco Briones, who made the most of his extended time with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 14 minutes.

Cyril Gonzales, another end-of-bench guard coming off injury, also shone with 10 points in 10 minutes, while lanky big man Mark Belmonte added 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Mounting a 44-32 lead at the half thanks to Briones’ leadership, UP quickly pulled away late in the third quarter, as it turned a 55-44 gap at the 3:17 mark to 69-47 after a 14-3 surge ending with a last-second Gonzales layup to end the frame.

UST failed to threaten the Maroons the rest of the way, as the league-leading squad peaked with a 29-point separation, 86-55, off a Harold Alarcon long two with 49.9 ticks left to convincingly seal the deal.

“Right now, after this game, we just focus on what we would still improve going towards our next game and we know how important our next game is [against NU],” said Monteverde in Filipino.

“We just have to be consistent. That’s always been our problem since the first round. It’s about being consistent.”

As has been the case for the last few seasons, contending UP always had rebuilding UST’s number, as its highest-scoring game this year also came at the latter’s expense to the tune of a 110-79 annihilation in the first round.

With the win, the Maroons rose to an 11-2 record, clinching at least a second-seed playoff ahead of its blockbuster showdown against the No. 2 NU Bulldogs on Sunday, November 19, to end the elimination round.

Nic Cabañero once again paced the losing cause down a 1-12 record with 14 points, while Migs Pangilinan scored 13.

The Scores

UP 86 – Briones 14, Gonzales 10, Cansino 9, Belmonte 9, Lopez 8, Alter 7, Diouf 6, Felicilda 6, Fortea 6, Alarcon 4, Torres 4, Abadiano 2, Torculas 1, Cagulangan 0, Pablo 0.

UST 61 – Cabañero 14, Manaytay 14, Pangilinan 13, Duremdes 5, Laure 5, Calum 4, Llemit 3, Manalang 2, Moore 1, Crisostomo 0, Lazarte 0, Magdangal 0, Esmena 0.

Quarters: 24-18, 44-32, 69-47, 86-61.

– Rappler.com