AFTER a dramatic overtime battle between the championship rivals in the first round of the UAAP Men’s Basketball competition, the University of the Philippines defeated defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, 65-60, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
In front of over 17,400 fans, UP showed why they are the team to beat in this year’s UAAP season. Despite the absences of CJ Cansino (down with the flu) and JD Cagulangan (hamstring injury), the Fighting Maroons emerged victorious, thanks to their resilient bench.
Gerry Abadiano, the Fighting Maroons’ third-year guard, had his best game of the season by dropping a season-high 22 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal, to lead his team to victory.
The score at the end of the first half was 32-30 in favor of UP. The reigning champions were startled by the Fighting Maroons’ third-quarter rally, which saw them create a 10-point lead behind Terrence Fortea, who had just made his UAAP comeback, and Abadiano, who turned a narrow lead into a 49-39 advantage.
The Blue Eagles, on the other hand, refused to go down without a fight. The squad was behind by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter before Jared Brown, Joseph Obasa and Kai Ballungay combined for 12 straight points to tie the game at 54, with 5:55 remaining.
However, Harold Alarcon and Abadiano responded with a triple and a jump shot, respectively, to give UP a 59-54 lead with 4:51 remaining.
With 45.3 seconds remaining, Alarcon stretched the advantage to six, but Mason Amos hit a three-pointer to give the Ateneans hope, pulling the Blue Eagles within three, 60-63.
In the ensuing possession, UP was able to milk the clock until Alarcon launched a crazy floater that missed. With less than six seconds remaining, Obasa attempted an open layup but missed.
According to Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde, the team started slowly since they were still figuring out their offensive flow, given that two of their major players were missing. “Siguro it took a while din na makuha namin ‘yung rhythm offensively.”
“We were a little bit in a hurry nung first quarter lalo na, but maganda dito, yung defense naming, it held up [against] Ateneo. And I felt nung huli, we were more patient offensively, we were really executing ‘yung offense namin,” he explained.
Abadiano believes that the key to their success was the team’s unwavering effort and determination to take down the Blue Eagles.
“Siguro ‘yung effort namin as a team nandiyan, kasi alam naman namin na nung first round natalo kami sa Ateneo and masakit para sa amin ‘yun,” said the game’s leading scorer.
Photo Courtesy: UAAP Media Group
“Before itong laban na ito, ang pinag-usapan talaga namin sa game na ito ‘yung [buong] effort lang talaga ang ibibigay namin, no matter what happens sa loob ng court, nandyan lang kami. Thankful kami na nakuha namin ‘yung panalo ngayon,” he continued.
Aside from Abadiano, Lopez and Alarcon each had 10 points, while reigning MVP Malick Diouf had 10 points and 17 rebounds. Fortea scored seven more points for the Fighting Maroons in his season debut following a right knee injury.
Ateneo plummeted to 4-5, tying for fourth and fifth place with Adamson University, while the Fighting Maroons held the sole lead with an 8-1 record.
Following this season’s loss to the Fighting Maroons, Ateneo attained their greatest number of defeats in an elimination round during the Tab Baldwin era, breaking their previous record of four losses in Season 79.
Despite the loss, Brown led the Blue Eagles in scoring with 18 points, four triples, and 16 rebounds. Obasa contributed 11 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks. Amos scored 10 points while Ballungay scored seven points on 3-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Chris Koon, the team’s consistent contributor, scored zero points, shooting 0 of 10 from the field.
UP will attempt to sustain their strong season against De La Salle Green Archers on Sunday, while Ateneo hopes to rebound against National University on Saturday, with both games to be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
