PAUL Desiderio waxed hot in the third quarter to book a career-high 28 points as University of the Philippines (UP) sent University of the East (UE) reeling once more, 84-71, in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Red Warriors showed some semblance of resilience this time as they led 42-38 at the half, only to lose steam and collapse to their third consecutive setback while gifting the Fighting Maroons’ their second win in three starts.
Desiderio was limited to seven points in the first half—he buried five free throws and made only one of four attempts—but came out firing with 16 third-quarter points en route to a career game built on five threes on 56 percent shooting He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Cebuano wingman led UP’s 14-0 blitz in the third quarter with back-to-back triples and capped the run with another trey for a 61-48 UP spread with 3:23 in the quarter.
“I was forcing my shots in my first two games, but in this game I tried to settle myself to relax. Good thing that I was able to control myself this time,” Desiderio said.
Desiderio hit the game-clinching three in UP’s 74-73 win over University of Santo Tomas last week as the Maroons rebounded from a 71-92 setback to Ateneo on Wednesday.
“It’s really a big loss for us if he is not getting his regular game. What a time to get his game back because this was an important game for us because we are facing tough teams in the coming weeks,” UP Head Coach Bo Perasol said.
Image credits: Stephanie Tumampos