CHARACTER TEST: UP battles dangerous UST, targets top spot
NOY Remogat will try to lead UP to an elimination sweep of UST for a taste of the solo lead at the start of the UAAP Season 89 basketball tournament second round.
Photograph courtesy of UAAP
Games today:
(Mall of Asia Arena)
2:30 p.m. — La Salle vs UE
5 p.m. — UP vs UST
University of the Philippines (UP) looks to continue its hot streak against University of Santo Tomas (UST) as the Final Four race intensifies in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament second round Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Fighting Maroons will try to ride the momentum of their three-game winning roll to replicate their first-round triumph over the Growling Tigers in their 5 p.m. rematch.
After back-to-back losses following a 2-0 start, UP went on a rampage for a 5-2 win-loss record tied with league-leading National University.
Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde expects his wards to go into the last half of the elimination round with maturity and a better approach to the game as they push for a sixth straight semifinals appearance.
“Everything that we went through, including those losses, is part of our growth as a team. Everything, for me, good or bad; it’s still a learning experience for the team, which we need towards the second round,” Monteverde said.
UP defeated UST, 92-85, in the season opener on 13 September behind foreign student-athlete Francis Nnoruka, Noy Remogat and Miguel Yniguez.
The Tigers, meanwhile, are on a back-to-back winning streak for a three-way tie with Adamson University and Far Eastern University for third to fifth places with identical 4-3 cards.
UST will pin its hopes on Most Valuable Player contenders Amiel Acido, Mark Llemit and Best FSA candidate Collins Akowe.
“I guess (after the first round), we all know what to do during games and in training. The second round is a different animal. We have to be really prepared,” Llemit said.
The Tigers could also see the return of Gelo Crisostomo, who has played only two games this season before suffering a right knee injury.
Akowe will have his hands full matching up against UP’s alternate FSA Nigerian Dikachi Ududo, who proved to be a difference-maker during the Fighting Maroons’ romp.
In the curtain-raiser at 2:30 p.m., defending champion De La Salle University seeks to turn its campaign around in a clash with winless University of the East (UE).
The Green Archers struggled in the first round with a 3-4 record — its worst elims starting record since 2022.
La Salle is in a three-way logjam with Adamson University and Ateneo de Manila University just outside the top four.
Although the Green Archers crushed the Red Warriors, 112-87, in their first meeting on 4 October, they remain wary of an improving UE despite a winless first round.
The Red Warriors are looking to avoid becoming the first team to drop 28 consecutive games since Adamson endured a 35-game losing streak from 1999 to 2002.
In their recent outings, the Red Warriors gave both the Falcons and the Fighting Maroons a tough challenge before eventually losing, signaling progress under interim coach Paolo Hubalde.