The curse lives on.
DLSU continues to be a thorn in UP’s championship hopes after handing the Fighting Maroons a loss in Game 2 of the Finals—their 5th straight in their Finals appearances.
Mike Phillips, often outshone by his teammate and Season 87 MVP Kevin “KQ” Quiambao, made his mark after putting up a double-double 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. His supporting cast came in the form of the newly minted season MVP, who led the comeback late in the 4th Quarter, delivering a total of 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists.
The 1st Quarter started off hot with UP shooting 3 for 3 from the perimeter before DLSU brought them to a halt. After the Fighting Maroons tallied 13 points, the Green Archers went on a hot streak to take the lead, ending the quarter 28-22.
Quentin “QMB” Millora-Brown, who was the Player of the Game in the first matchup of the Finals, put up only 1 of 2 FTs, 4 rebounds, 1 assist by the end of the first half.
UP tried to crawl out of the deficit in the 2nd quarter, but with Gerry Abadiano being the only one able to score up to 4 points for his team, it was no match to DLSU defense as seen in the Green Archers outrebounding their rivals.
The second half brought new life to the team from Diliman.
JD Cagulangan made a long-distance 3-pointer to take the lead for UP 54-52 and, after a layup from QMB, made two more to keep DLSU chasing, capping the 3rd quarter at 64-54. DLSU had no answer in the last two minutes of the quarter, missing 4 consecutive free throws and a jumper.
With less than 2:30 in the game, KQ pulled off a performance worthy of his back-to-back Season MVP honors; made two long-distance 3-pointers that took the air out of the room, erasing the lead UP kept since the 3rd quarter to make it 74-73.
By then, that was all she wrote for UP.
After Francis Lopez missed all 4 of his free throws and made a turnover, the Fighting Maroons could not mount a quick enough comeback, losing by a single point, 76-75.
At one a piece, UP vs DLSU revisit Game 3 of the Finals set to take place on Sunday, December 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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