Dario’s late trey propels Maroons vs Generals

Diego Dario hit a triple with 7.7 seconds left as University of the Philippines rallied past Emilio Aguinaldo College, 61-59, to stay unbeaten in the Filoil Flying V Cup at Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

“It was a lucky shot,” said UP coach Bo Perasol, who tapped Dario after EAC scored on a layup off an inbound steal. “I think we’d close out the game really bad but it was a bail-out shot by Diego for us.”

UP actually wavered with a couple of turnovers off their inbound play which EAC translated into baskets as the Generals, coming off a big win over the erstwhile unbeaten Adamson Falcons, grabbed the lead at 59-58, with 12.7 seconds remaining in the contest.

But Dario came through with the game-winner from the top of the arc, helping the Maroons nail their third straight win.

EAC outscored UP in the first quarter, 19-6, but the latter struck from the long range behind Dario and Paul Desiderio.

“We started really flat but we settled down and it was good that we were able to bounce back,” said Perasol.

Desiderio and Dario finished with 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Jarrell Lim and Juan Gomezde Liano combined for 23 markers. Francis Munsayac and Jerome Garcia each scored 11 points for the Generals, who also drew 10 points and nine rebounds from Sydney Onwubere. EAC dropped to 1-4. Earlier, Robert Bolick shot 16 points, dished off nine assists and grabbed four rebounds as San Beda debuted with a 96-79 rout of Lyceum.

The Lions, coming off a threeweek camp in the US, clamped down on defense in the second half, holding the Pirates to 29 points after pouring in 50 points in the first two quarters. The Red Lions outscored the Pirates in the third period, 24-14, to post a 79-64 bulge en route to victory.