UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) regained its winning form—but the hard way—as the Fighting Maroons escaped past the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigers, 71-69, in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Both teams had difficulty making baskets in the fourth quarter with the Tigers going scoreless in the first five minutes and the Maroons taking their turn at shooting duds in the next three minutes.
But the Maroons caught fire with Ibrahim Outtara sinking two crucial baskets to give UP a 70-64 lead with one minute and 16 seconds left to play.
The Growling Tigers, however, refused to wilt. Marvin Lee tried to spur a comeback in the final seconds and set up Marvin Romero for a lay-up and nailed a clutch three-pointer to cut down UP’s lead to 70-69, 11 seconds left.
Jun Manzo drew a desperation foul in UP’s final offense. He made the first and intentionally missed the second. Luckily for the Maroons, the Tigers didn’t have the luxury of a timeout as time ran out.
“Every time we go up against UST, it’s always going to be a classic game for us,” UP Head Coach Bo Perasol said. “I just made sure the players understood how dangerous UST is despite being winless. This is just too difficult for us because we just wanted to get another win after the three losses we had.”
Janjan Jaboneta started for UP for the first time this season and finished with a season-high 12 points on four three-pointers.
Manzo played through an injured ankle and finished with 10 points, while Paul Desiderio chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. Ouattara added nine points, 11 boards and three blocks.
UP snapped a three-game skid and improved to 4-4 won-lost for solo fifth place, numbers that Perasol said boosted the Maroons’ morale.
“This is something that can perk us up, make us believe again that we can still do this,” he said. “Just imagine what would have had happened if we lost this game, it was a close game but we’re able to make a stop in the last possession. We’re just happy about this, all of us,” he said.
Lee led UST (0-7) with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Soriano contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Jordan Sta. Ana added 13 points for the Tigers.
Image credits: Stephanie Tumampos