FIVE-AND-OH: Maroons overcome huge deficit, rip Falcons

Games today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:30 p.m. — UST vs La Salle

6:30 p.m. — FEU vs Ateneo

There’s no stopping the rampaging University of the Philippines (UP).

Not even a mountain of a 22-point second-quarter deficit.

The Fighting Maroons remained unscathed in five starts after repulsing a stunned Adamson University side in a come-from-behind, 69-57, win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Harold Alarcon, Terrence Fortea and JD Cagulangan anchored UP’s amazing comeback from a deep hole to keep its lofty spot in the standings with a pristine 5-0 win-loss record despite a horrible first quarter.

“Sometimes there are games like this. We were really trying to execute our offense in the first half but our shots were not falling in,” Fighting Maroons coach Goldwin Monteverde said.

“But we said we just have to stick with the game plan, work as a team, look for better shots and at the same time we had to remind each other defensively that we have to work for it.”

Alarcon had 14 points and eight rebounds, Fortea finished with 13 points while Quentin Millora-Brown registered a second-straight double-double outing of 11 points and 15 boards. Cagulangan had nine points and dished out seven assists for UP.

The Fighting Maroons’ scoring spurts in the last three periods left the Falcons in shock after looking poised to pull off an upset when it built a 31-9 advantage early in the second quarter.

UP kept Adamson without a field goal for almost five minutes in the fourth quarter as it widened its five-point gap at the end of the third to 63-47.

A 7-0 run to start the second half gave UP a taste of the lead, 36-33, with 6:46 remaining in the third canto. Adamson got back in front, 46-44, off a Manu Anabo trey in the closing minutes of the third but turned out to be its last time to take the advantage.

Adamson came out smoking, silencing the dominantly UP crowd with a strong start that opened a 17-point separation with a 26-9 first quarter.

The Falcons erected their biggest lead after a trey by Matt Erolon.

But UP tightened up the gear on defense to make up for its sluggish start as they held Adamson to just seven points the whole second canto and slowly gobbled up the Falcons’ once imposing advantage.

An 18-2 Fighting Maroons run to close the first half whittled Adamsons’ margin to just six, 33-27, at halftime.

Matthew Montebon and Arthur Calisay had 12 points each for the Falcons, who went ice-cold in the second half after a fiery opening period to slide down to a 3-3 card.

Meanwhile, defending champion De La Salle University looks to ignite a winning run against University of Santo Tomas today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tipoff time is set 4:30 p.m.

The Green Archers are coming off a 68-62 rebound win over Far Eastern University (FEU) last Wednesday for a 4-1 slate while the Tigers are also fresh from a bounce-back victory and are sitting at third spot with a 3-1 card.

Ateneo de Manila University, on the other hand, seeks a second straight win in a 6:30 p.m. showdown with winless FEU.

The well-rested Blue Eagles ended a three-game losing skid after beating Adamson, 60-51, last week.

But Ateneo is sure to find the Tamaraws a hard nut to crack as they are desperate to barge into the win column after five failed tries.

The scores:

UP (69) — Alarcon 14, Fortea 13, Millora-Brown 11, Cagulangan 9, Lopez 6, Felicilda 4, Bayla 3, Torculas 3, Belmonte 2, Briones 2, Ududo 2, Abadiano 0, Walker 0, Stevens 0.

Adamson (57) — Montebon 12, Calisay 12, Erolon 8, Anabo 6, Ojarikre 6, Fransman 5, Manzano 4, Mantua 2, Yerro 2, Alexander 0, Ronzone 0, Ramos 0, Barasi 0.

Quarters: 9-26, 27-33, 51-46, 69-57.