Maroons strike again

Games today:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

1:30 p.m. — FEU vs Adamson

4:30 p.m. — Ateneo vs La Salle

Defending champion University of the Philippines (UP) overhauled a 13-point third quarter deficit to shock erstwhile unbeaten National University, 66-59, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Fighting Maroons took the bite out of the Bulldogs with a 32-19 second half explosion on their way to back-to-back wins after four starts.

Nigerian center Francis Nnoruka finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 field goal shooting and grabbed six rebounds as UP broke a two-game losing jinx inside the Espana-based game venue.

“We just kept pushing because we needed this win. We’ve lost two games in this court and we need to win this one,” Nnoruka said.

“NU hasn’t lost a game yet so we knew it’s going to be a tough matchup. We just kept our cool and kept playing, played tough defense and continued to trust the process.”

UP dismantled a 34-47 deficit with over six minutes left in the third quarter with a decisive 22-2 run capped by a Harold Alarcon jumper to get in front, 56-49, with five minutes remaining in the match.

The Fighting Maroons erected a 65-53 advantage with 34 seconds left on a Reyland Torres jump shot. The Bulldogs made one final run to close in 59-65 with 13.8 ticks left but Torres sank his first foul shot in the last eight seconds before pulling down his miss on the second attempt to seal the win.

Gani Stevens had 10 points while Alarcon scored all of his eight points in the final period. New recruit Miguel Yniguez provided the spark off the bench, scoring all of his eight points in UP’s decisive 14-2 third quarter closing rally to trim NU’s imposing 47-34 lead with 6:25 left in the period to just one heading into the fourth.

The Bulldogs slipped to a 3-1 slate despite the 16-point production of Steve Nash Enriquez and 10 points by Gelo Santiago.

Jake Figueroa was limited to just nine points after averaging 17.0 points per game in NU’s first three games.

Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas unleashed a second half firestorm to crush winless University of the East, 111-99, in a strong bounce back victory.

The Growling Tigers held down the Red Warriors to just 12 points in the third quarter before opening the floodgates in the fourth period to erect a 20-point cushion on their way to improving to a 3-1 card.

Silenced in UST’s sorry 69-76 loss to NU last Wednesday, Nigerian rookie center Collins Akowe unboxed a double-double of 18 points on 6-of-8 field goal shooting and pulled down 17 rebounds with three blocks and two steals. Akowe only had five points and eight boards against NU.

Nic Cabañero had 22 points including a triple that gave UST a 100-80 separation with 4:31 left in the final period, enough to cushion UE’s late rally.

Forthsky Padrigao connected five triples for 18 points with six assists and six steals while Amiel Acido and Mark Llemit added 11 points each for the Tigers, whose 111-point outburst was the highest by any UAAP team since De La Salle University’s 112-point performance in a 29-point rout of UST back on 19 April 2002.

It was also the most points scored by a Pido Jarencio-coached squad, surpassing the 104-point tally in a 15-point win over NU on 16 July 2009.

John Abate finished with 27 points while Dray Caoile had 23 points for the Red Warriors, who remained winless after four starts.

Precious Momowei saw his double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds go down the drain in UE’s 10th straight defeat since last season.

The Red Warriors played sans Welo Lingolingo due to an illness.

The scores:

First game

UST (111) — Cabañero 22, Padrigao 18, Akowe 18, Acido 11, Llemit 11, Calum 9, Danting 9, Crisostomo 8, Bucsit 3, Buenaflor 2, Paranada 0, Estacio 0.

UE (99) — Abate 27, Caoile 23, Momowei 16, Tañedo 11, Datumalim 9, Malaga 6, Lagat 3, Jimenez 2, Rosete 2, Robles 0, Cruz-Dumont 0, Despi 0.

Quarters: 29-31, 59-55, 83-67, 111-99.

Second game

UP (66) — Nnoruka 14, Stevens 10, Alarcon 8, Yniguez 8, Remogat 6, Fortea 5, Bayla 4, Torres 4, Belmonte 4, Briones 3, Abadiano 0, Palanca 0.

NU (59) — Enriquez 16, Santiago 10, Figueroa 9, Palacielo 7, Francisco 4, Manansala 4, John 4, Jumamoy 3, Padrones 2, Garcia 0, Parks 0, Dela Cruz 0.

Quarters: 13-19, 34-40, 48-49, 66-59.