UNIVERSITY of the Philippines cruised past University of the East, securing an 81-71 victory to claim its second win of the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Fighting Maroons co-captain JD Cagulangan led the charge with 21 points, shooting 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, while also contributing seven rebounds and four assists.
Mark Belmonte and Harold Alarcon supported Cagulangan’s efforts, each scoring nine points.
“Consistency sa ginagawa,” Cagulangan emphasized when asked about the team’s improvement needs after their 2-0 start. “The first three quarters, maganda ang ginagawa namin, then suddenly in the fourth quarter, pangit ng start. Kailangan ng consistency sa ginagawa at focus lang (lagi).”
UP held a commanding 48-29 lead at the half and extended that margin to a game-high 69-42 in the third quarter, capped by a thunderous dunk from Francis Lopez with 1:50 remaining in the period.
However, the Red Warriors refused to back down.
In the fourth quarter, Nico Mulingtapang, Wello Lingolingo, John Abate, Ethan Galang, and Precious Momowei rallied, cutting the deficit to just 81-71 with 1:37 left on the clock.
By then, it was too little, too late for the Red Warriors.
“Every game is a teaching moment for us,” said UP assistant coach Christian Luanzon. “In the first half, our offense flowed well, and our defense held them to 29 points. But in the second half, we allowed 42 points. While we scored 21 points in the third quarter, we also gave up 20—wala yan sa standard namin defensively.”
Luanzon continued, “As Coach Gold (Monteverde) says, each game should show improvement, not just during the off-season. This game will help us moving forward as we clean up some things.”
UP’s defensive pressure paid off, forcing 17 turnovers that resulted in 22 points, while limiting UE to just eight points off turnovers. The Fighting Maroons also dominated perimeter scoring, 31-13.
The lone blemish on UP’s win was Harold Alarcon’s unsportsmanlike foul on Mulingtapang with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter.
The Fighting Maroons will aim for a third consecutive win when they face National University this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
On the UE side, Nigerian center Precious Momowei led the Red Warriors with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, while Lingolingo added 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
Mulingtapang and Maga chipped in nine points each.
UE, now on an 11-game losing streak against UP and winless at 0-2 this season, will seek their first victory of Season 87 when they take on Far Eastern University this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
UP (81) – Cagulangan 21, Belmonte 9, Alarcon 9, Lopez 7, Bayla 7, Ududo 7, Abadiano 6, Fortea 5, Millora-Brown 5, Stevens 2, Briones 2, Torres 1, Walker 0, Alter 0.
UE (71) – Momowei 20, Lingolingo 11, Mulingtapang 9, Maga 9, Abate 6, Wilson 6, Fikes 6, Galang 2, J. Cruz-Dumont 0, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Malaga 0.
