Fighting Maroons flex muscles, near 1st round sweep

Still perfect.

University of the Philippines bucked another slow start and the absence of veteran guard JD Cagulangan to tame University of Santo Tomas, 81-70, for its sixth straight win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Fighting Maroons used a strong second half to fend off the Tigers and keep their pristine record intact ahead of their explosive finals rematch against defending champion De La Salle University to end the first round of eliminations on Sunday.

“Much better second half, definitely,” UP assistant coach Christian Luanzon said.

“After allowing 23 points in the first quarter alone then limiting them to just 28 in the second half, obviously we had a better second half in terms of effort and adjustments. It’s really the players, they responded to all the things coach Gold (Monteverde) told them to do.”

UP exploded for 11 straight points in the fourth quarter to erect a 79-65 lead with 3:22 left. The Fighting Maroons also cranked up their defensive pressure in the payoff period as they held UST to just seven points on just two field goals.

Harold Alarcon took over the leadership role inside the court for Cagulangan, who was feeling under the weather but still joined the squad, submitting 16 points on 7-of-14 field goal shooting.

Francis Lopez got 15 markers and six rebounds while Terrence Fortea and Gerry Abadiano scored 11 and 10, respectively, for UP, which converted 24 of UST’s miscues into 31 turnover points.

The Tigers pounced on the cold-starting Fighting Maroons early with Mo Tounkara, Nic Cabañero and Forthsky Padrigao taking the lead in dictating the pace.

UST built a 25-16 separation early in the second period after a dominating opening quarter where it dropped 23 points.

Not letting the game get out of hand, the Fighting Maroons patiently trimmed down their deficit as they made a closing rally to slash the Tigers’ advantage to just one possession, 42-40, at halftime.

Tounkara had the hot hand in the first half, scoring 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 field goal shooting with UST hitting 15-of-29 from the field.

“This is a tough UST team, a much better team from last season. Just like other teams in the UAAP, you can expect their A-game. Kudos to them,” Luanzon said.

“Kudos to them. Just fortunate in the end that we’re able to hold them down.”

UP opened the second half with eight straight points for a 48-42 lead capped by a Lopez slam dunk with 8:35 left in the third. The Tigers regained the lead, 61-58, off a Tounkara basket but would turn out to be UST’s last time to be in front.

The Tigers suffered back-to-back losses and slid to a 3-3 slate tied with Adamson University.

Tounkara finished with 21 points and five rebounds, Cabañero had 15 markers while Padrigao got 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists but also turned the ball over seven times for UST.

The scores:

UP (81) — Alarcon 16, Lopez 15, Fortea 11, Abadiano 10, Millora-Brown 8, Felicilda 8, Ududo 6, Torculas 5, Torres 2, Belmonte 0, Bayla 0, Briones 0, Alter 0.

UST (70) — Tounkara 21, Cabañero 15, Padrigao 14, Paranada 5, Llemit 4, Manaytay 4, Danting 3, Crisostomo 2, Mahmood 2, Acido 0, Estacio 0, Laure 0, Robinson 0, Calum 0, Pangilinan 0.

Quarters: 16-23, 40-42, 68-63, 81-70.