U.P. stays hot form, blasts UE

University of the Philippines (UP) sustained its winning ways in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 women’s basketball tournament, cruising past the University of the East (UE), 57-43, on Saturday at the Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.

With the victory, the Fighting Maroons secured their second consecutive win to improve to 3-2.

The victory also propelled UP from fourth to second in the standings, behind the still-undefeated University of Santo Tomas, which holds a 3-0 record.

“I like what I saw today. We are starting to gel as a team, getting to know our roles and how to finish games. Today, we know we played a team that hasn’t won a game, and we expected that they would be tenacious and that they would really fight until the end,” UP head coach Eric Altamirano said.

“Good thing our defense held up because this was not our best offensive game. There were two quarters where we didn’t even score in double figures, but I am really proud of the girls. They focus on our defense, and I think that’s one of the key things why we won this game,” the 60-year-old coach added.

The Fighting Maroons set the tone early, with Marille Vingno drilling a midrange jumper to give UP a 15-point cushion, 21-6.

UE eventually found its rhythm after trailing 25-12 early in the second quarter, unleashing a 14-6 run capped by Sy Onate’s triple to trim the deficit to five at halftime, 31-26.

However, that was as close as the Lady Warriors would get. UP held UE to just 10 points in the third quarter to extend its lead to 12 heading into the final frame, 48-36.

The Lady Warriors struggled to mount a late comeback, enduring a seven-minute scoring drought midway through the fourth quarter before Moana Vacalares finally broke through with a layup. By then, however, it was too late, as UP completed a wire-to-wire victory.

UE, meanwhile, continued its search for its first win in two years, extending its losing streak to 29 games and dropping to 0-4 this season.

Kennan Ka led UP with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a block. Blessing Francis and Tiani Abrams chipped in nine points apiece, while Camille Nolasco added eight.