Maroons aim for bounce back win vs Tigers

AFTER seeing its seven-game winning streak come to an end last Sunday, defending champion University of the Philippines (UP) looks to bounce back today, November 23, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Coming off an 80-82 loss to De La Salle University Green Archers, the Fighting Maroons shift their focus to the already-eliminated University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers as the Katipunan-based quintet also aim to secure at least a playoff for a twice-tobeat incentive in the Final Four.

UP and UST meet at 11 a.m. to jumpstart a heavy quadruple-header schedule.

National University and La Salle collide at 1 p.m., Ateneo and University of the East clash at 4:30 p.m. and Far Eastern University and Adamson University lock horns at 6:30 p.m.

Last Sunday, the Maroons failed to sustain their strong first half showing and fell flat against the Green Archers in the second half.

UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde once again stressed the need for his team to be consistent from start to finish if they are to successfully defend their title.

“I guess it’s the same thing for us. Our consistency is still suspect. We need to improve on it,” said Monteverde, who will continue to lean on JD Cagulangan, Carl Tamayo and Zav Lucero against UST.

Taking care of the ball and protecting the paint are also priorities for UP, which turned the ball 21 times and gave up 48 points in the paint against La Salle.

“I think we need to limit our turnovers. I think they had 12 steals from us. So, offensively, we need to be better. Defensively, I think they (Green Archers) scored 48 points in the paint so we need to really toughen up our interior defense,” Monteverde said.

Meanwhile, the Growling Tigers are seeking to end their 10-game losing streak. They bowed to the NU Bulldogs, 57-67, last Sunday.

Nic Cabañero and Adama Faye are expected to lead the charge anew for UST.