THIS is perhaps one reason why University of the Philippines, for the first time in a long while, is seen as the team to beat: The Fighting Maroons have the heart of a champion, and they played like one against the Adamson University Soaring Falcons yesterday.
Battling back from a 16-point first half deficit, UP outlasted Adamson 87-78 in overtime for its second straight win in the 85th UAAP basketball tournament at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Stepping up anew for injured lead playmaker JD Cagulangan, Terrence Fortea boomed in two straight three pointers and found Senegalese import Malick Diouf for a slam dunk that gave the Maroons an 82-74 lead with 2:28 remaining in OT.
Zavier Lucero showed the way for UP with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Diouf turned in a double-double of 13 markers and 12 boards, to go with four dimes, and four blocks.
Fortea had 12 and two, while Carl Tamayo added 11 points for the Maroons, who sustained the same grit and effort they showed in a 72-69 decision over La Salle five days ago and rose to 2-0.
Adamson, coming off a 60-69 loss to University of Santo Tomas last Saturday, fell to 0-2.
UP coach Goldwin Monteverde is convinced his charges could only get better.
“Catch up man or not, what’s important is what we can get from it. As the season progresses, I think we’ll still improve as a team,” Monteverde said. “Ang importante is we have to give importance doon sa mga adjustments.”
Earlier, University of the East stunned Far Eastern University, scoring a 76-66 victory for its first win in three years while ending a 15-game losing skid.
Kyle Paranada waxed hot for the Red Warriors with five three-pointers and wound up with a career-high 25 points in a performance he laced with a rebound and five assists.
JM Tulabut and Luis Villegas also combined for 17 markers as UE made up for a 70-77 setback at the hands of National University last Sunday and ended its losing streak dating back to 2019.
The Warriors last won in the 82nd season where they beat the Bulldogs 79-76 on Oct. 30, 2019, before going winless in the last cage wars.
The Tamaraws absorbed their second defeat in a row, including a 70-79 loss to Ateneo four days ago.
“It was a good game. At least, iyong instructions natin, iyong gameplan, almost nagawa (lagat). Mayroon lang kaming lapses down the stretch,” UE tactician Jack Santiago said. “But still the bottom line was the game plan was followed by my boys, especially si Kyle.”
The Falcons squandered a 47-31 spread at the half and trailed 58-62 heading into the final stanza.
Adamson forced the extra period on Joem Sabandal’s three free throws off a James Spencer foul with 0.1 second left.
Jerom Lastimosa fired 25 points for the Falcons, while Congolese reinforcement Lenda Douanga got 11 markers and eight rebounds.
Vince Magbuhos and Sabandal also combined for 20 points for Adamson.
After taking a 38-36 buffer at the break, the Warriors outgunned FEU 25-8 in the third quarter that made it 63-44 going into the final canto.
