UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) booked its fourth straight victory and De La Salle got back on the winning track on Tuesday when the fans and students are back to root for their teams in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 84 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After losing heavily to defending three-time champion Ateneo over the weekend, De La Salle vented its ire on University of Santo Tomas (UST), 75-66, for its fourth win in five games.
UP, on the other hand, fended off Adamson University, 73-71, to join De La Salle at second place on a 4-1 card.
Far Eastern University (FEU) also arrested a three-game skid by pounding University of the East (UE), 88-74, to improve to a 2-3, the same record as UST.
UE, now 0-5 at the cellar, played without head coach Jack Santiaho who served the first of a two-game suspension for a barbaric instruction to the Red Warriors to play physical against the Fighting Maroons during their weekend game.
The day, however, also belonged to collegiate league fans who were allowed to watch the games live from the lower and upper box sections and general admission.
A total of 4,225 fans watched the days’ three games with the crowd for the Ateneo-National University game set for 7 p.m. Tuesday still unaccounted for. The MOA Arena sits 14,000 with the league maintaining the patron section as a bubble zone.