UP Fighting Maroons rally to crush UST
MANILA---The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons nabbed their first win in rousing fashion, coming all the way back from a 13-point deficit to defeat the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 98-82, in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament, on Tuesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
UP got the spark it needed from the play of rookie Zav Lucero who spearheaded the comeback for UP with a deuce and a two-handed slam to start the third quarter before Cebuano big man Carl Tamayo drained two freethrows to tie the game at 48-all. That was all the Maroons needed to get their game going as they went on to outscore the Growling Tigers by 21, 36-15, to build a huge 78-63 lead heading into the payoff period.
The UP advantage would eventually balloon to 21 after a layup by Ricci Rivero at the 6:51 mark of the fourth, 88-67.
“Yun talaga threat namin in a way, yung pressing defense namin,” said UP coach Goldwin Monteverde. “The most important thing for me dito is nakita ko yung bounce back namin in the previous game and during this game.”
Rivero led the Maroons with 19 points, while Lucero was an efficient 9-of-14 from the field to finish with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block.
Tamayo also had 18 points and eight rebounds, while James Spencer tallied 11 points built on three triples.
CJ Cansino in his first game against his former team had seven points and five rebounds.
Sherwin Concepcion paced the Tigers with 19 points and five rebounds, while Joshua Fontanilla and Nic Cabañero tallied 17 and 16 points, respectively. However, the trio combined for 15 turnovers.
The Maroons will next face National University on Thursday at 4 p.m., while the Tigers cap the night against University of the East at 7 p.m. (JNP)