UNIVERSITY of the Philippines improved its chances of advancing to the playoffs by routing Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), 83-70, on Monday in the 12th Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Fighting Maroons improved to 4-3 won-lost and moved two games behind Group A leader De La Salle University (5-0).
UP started strong and hoped to settle the issue early with Javi Gomez de Liano and Paul Desiderio combining for 17 points to power the Fighting Maroons to a 44-21 halftime lead.
De Liano’s younger brother Juan, the team’s leading scorer, had to skip the game with an injury but it hardly mattered.
De Liano had a tournament-best effort of 21 points on three triples with four rebounds. Desiderio finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
John Paul Maguliano paced the still-winless Generals with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rustan Bugarin had 12 points and six rebounds as EAC absorbed its fifth loss in a row.
Coach Bo Perasol, meanwhile, confirmed the transfer of De La Salle center John Winifred Gob to the Maroons. Gob will take a one-year residency and will be eligible for Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
Adamson University, meanwhile, pounced on another second-half collapse by Jose Rizal University (JRU) to prevail, 74-67, in the other game.
The Falcons continued to soar up the standings and are now in third place in Group B with their fourth win in five games.
The first half ended in a 31-31 stalemate but a different Adamson University reported for the second half, with Papi Sarr and Sean Manganti leading the way. The Falcons nursed a 58-55 lead until they went on a 13-4 run for an unassailable 71-59 edge entering the final two minutes.
Sarr scored his team’s last six points to ice the game and ended up with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Manganti was next with nine points.
Jonathan Jed Mendoza paced the Heavy Bombers with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists. MJ de la Virgen followed with 12 points and three rebounds as they absorbed their seventh straight loss and virtually bowed out of the playoffs race.