(Photo by Brandon Deichmann)
The Fighting Maroons grinded against their Katipunan rivals while the Green Archers scorched the basket against the back-to-back bronze medalists to secure their inaugural finals in the UAAP men’s basketball Final Four Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.
In the first game, the University of the Philippines (UP) played impenetrable defense to stymy defending champions Ateneo de Manila, 57-46, to make their fourth finals in five seasons.
After a lethargic first half, where the score ended at 25-22 for the Blue Eagles, the Fighting Maroons found their scoring groove sparked by a fastbreak slam by Aldous Torculas to eract a 42-37 third quarter lead that ballooned to nine in the fourth quarter, thanks to crucial defensive gems from Gerry Abadiano and Malick Diouf alongside crucial baskets by Lebron Lopez and Janjan Felicilda.
“We just wanted to make every shot hard for them. . . Laging fluid ang offense nila e, they always seem to find the best shot possible. We never underestimated yung kakayanan ng team na ito,” commented UP lead assistant coach Christian Luanzon, who spoke in behalf of head coach Goldwyn Monteverde.
“From a defensive standpoint ito yung pinaka-consistent na fourth quarter namin. It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Luanzon added.
Super rookie Lopez and reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Diouf led the Season 84 champs with 12 points each and a combined 26 rebounds while Felicilda added 10 points.
Chris Koon was the lone double digit scorer for Ateneo with 10 points.
In the second game, De La Salle University obliterated National University (NU), 97-73, anchored on Mark Nonoy’s hot shooting in the third quarter.
A 12-4 run by the Green Archers to open the third quarter led to a 20-point balloon midway in said period which buried the Bulldogs for good.
“La Salle is not an underdog, maybe they had challenges in the past but they’re winners. . . It’s just a matter of maybe giving them the freedom to really flourish, to be at their natural best,” said first-year head coach Topex Robinson after the game.
Nonoy, a finalist in 2019 with the University of Santo Tomas, fired 20 points off for triples while MVP frontrunner Kevin Quiambao added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Power forward Jake Figueroa did a yeoman’s job for the Bulldogs with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
With the win, the Green Archers did not only recover from a fifth-place finish last season but has returned to the finals for the first time since 2017 and are raring to reclaim the championship they have last won in 2016 during the Jeron Teng/Ben Mbala era.
The scores
First game:
UP 57 – Diouf 12, Lopez 12, Felicilda 10, Abadiano 9, Torculas 7, Cansino 3, Cagulangan 2, Alarcon 2, Pablo 0, Torres 0, Alter 0, Belmonte 0, Fortea 0.
Ateneo 46 – Koon 10, Ballungay 8, Espinosa 7, Amos 6, Obasa 4, Brown 3, Chiu 3, Credo 3, Quitevis 2, Lazaro 0.
Second game:
La Salle 97 – Nonoy 20, Quiambao 17, Nelle 15, M. Phillips 11, Policarpio 9, Escandor 9, David 5, Cortez 4, Macalalag 4, Abadam 3, Austria 0, Gollena 0, Nwankwo 0.
NU 73 – Figueroa 19, Malonzo 13, Baclaan 12, Palacielo 8, Yu 8, Jumamoy 7, Padrones 2, Manansala 2, Galinato 2, Enriquez 0, Lim 0, John 0, Gulapa 0, Parks 0, Casinillo 0.
Quarter scores: 20-14, 45-36, 75-50, 97-73
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