A DIFFERENT Fighting Maroons emerged in the second round of the UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament – better, bolder and determined to UP their performance in every game.
This was evident after the University of the Philippines (UP) prevailed over Adamson University, 70-66 on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, their second straight victory in the second round of the tournament.
The Maroons had a slow start and was outscored by the Falcons at the first half, as Adamson made it hard for UP to catch up with a 20-9 run early in the match.
However, UP rallied and was able to turn the game around in the second half, and took a nine-point lead in return to Adamson.
It became a crucial point for Adamson to capture another basket in their favor, for the Fighting Maroons exploded one by one in the second half, including the stellar performance of UP Rookie Javi Gomez De Liano and standout player Paul Desiderio.
With 25-seconds remaining in the fourth, graduating guard Jett Manuel hit a jumper, which led to 69-63 and later on sealed their third win.
“It was a great team win, a lot of people stepped up and we’re happy about it. Ecstatic pa ako sa feeling na we had back-to-back wins,” said Manuel.
Manuel had 16 points, six rebounds and Desiderio finished 16 points, three boards and one steal. Meanwhile, it was a great turnout for rookie Gomez De Liano, who topped with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.
UP improved to 3-6, which matched their total wins last season. They are on solo sixth place in the UAAP standing, while Adamson dropped to 4-5 followed by their second consecutive defeat.
Big man Papi Sarr had 18 points and 11 boards, while Rob Manalang added ten points.
Follow the writer on Twitter: [social link=”https://twitter.com/burnsports” icon=”62218″]
