UAAP: UP chalks up win no. 6 at UST's expense

UP's Francis Lopez. Photo from UAAP Media

MANILA (UPDATED) – University of the Philippines grabbed its sixth win in as many games in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament at the expense of University of Santo Tomas, 81-70, on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Fighting Maroons remained perfect in the competition, also moving to a win away from a first-round sweep, while the Growling Tigers dropped to a 3-3 win-loss card.

The duo of Harold Alarcon and Francis Lopez led the charge, bucking the absence of JD Cagulangan who was feeling under the weather and tallied 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Terrence Fortea chipped in 11 markers on only 15 minutes of gameplay.

READ: UAAP: UP eyes win No. 6 vs UST; UE looks to pile on Ateneo's woes

One of the key factors for UP was the bench scoring—coach Goldwin Monteverde's non-starters put up 55 points for the winning side, compared to only 15 of the UST's second stringers.

And UP, just like its last game against Adamson, had a slow start and just had a better second half tonight, outscoring the Growling Tigers, 41-28.

"Much better, definitely. After allowing 23 points in the first quarter alone and then limiting them to 28 in the second half. Obviously, mas maganda yung second half namin in terms of effort, in terms of adjustments," said assistant coach Christian Luanzon said during the postgame interview.

"But it’s really the players. They responded to all the things that Coach Gold told them to do, especially during half time," he went on.

"But this is a tough UST team. Obviously, a much better team compared to the last season just like any other team in the UAAP. You can always expect yung A game nila. So, kudos to them."

Mo Tounkara had himself a good shooting night on 9-of-10 percentage, leading the sliding UST with 21 points, despite suffering an ankle sprain late in the match.

Nic Cabanero added 15 points, although on 4-of-12 shooting, while Forth Padrigao had 14 markers, seven assists, and seven turnovers.

UP, now on a six-game unbeaten run, faces defending champion La Salle on Sunday, while UST could bounce back against FEU on Saturday.

The Scores:

UP 81 – Alarcon 16, Lopez 15, Fortea 11, Abadiano 10, Millora-Brown 8, Felicilda 8, Ududo 6, Torculas 5, Torres 2, Bayla 0, Belmonte 0, Briones 0, Alter 0.

UST 70 – Tounkara 21, Cabanero 15, Padrigao 14, Paranada 5, Manaytay 4, Llemit 4, Danting 3, Crisostomo 2, Mahmood 2, Acido 0, Robinson 0, Laure 0, Pangilinan 0, Estacio 0, Calum 0.

Quarterscores: 16-23, 40-42, 68-63, 81-70.