25 September 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – Juan Gomez de Liano knocked down the needed basket for University of the Philippine to escape De La Salle University and claim a tight 72-71 win in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The former Rookie of the Year stole Aljun Melecio’s pass and ran to the other side of the court to put in a go-ahead three-pointer to give them a slim one-point lead, with only 7.8 ticks left in the game.
Andrei Caracut tried to answer back with his own triple, but it bounced off the basket as time ran out, giving the Fighting Maroons their fourth straight win to improve to a 5-1 win-loss record in the tournament.
“My team is just like leading a chariot with wild stallions,” said UP head coach Bo Perasol post-game. “Another one goes to the right, another one goes to the left, another one goes to the middle. But come winning time, they got their acts together.”
La Salle led most of the game, until Kobe Paras tied the match at 61-all in the payoff period after putting in two freebies. Andrei Caracut’s three-pointer put them up ahead again, but big man Bright Akhuetie’s putback tied them at 67-all, 3:05 left.
Melecio fired another trey, but Paras’ free throws kept them close. La Salle’s defense stopped any other baskets from UP, but Juan GDL saw the right opportunity in the last seconds and intercepted Melecio’s pass to put a three-pointer for UP.
“I’m really glad I made the right decision,” Juan GDL said.
Paras led UP with 21 points, two rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and an assists, while Akhuetie had a double-double 17-point, 14-rebound tally, to go along with three assists and two steals. Juan GDL finished with 10 markers and five boards.
For La Salle, Caracut and Melecio had 16 points apiece, while Justin Baltazar had 13 markers and nine boards as they dropped to a 2-4 slate.
The Scores:
UP 72 – Paras 21, Akhuetie 17, Gomez de Liano Ju 10, Rivero 9, Manzo 5, Tungcab 5, Webb 3, Jaboneta 2, Gob 0, Gomez de Liano Ja 0, Murrell 0, Prado 0, Spencer 0
LA SALLE 71 – Caracut 16, Melecio 16, Baltazar 13, Bartlett 8, Malonzo 7, Manuel 5, Serrano 4, Lojera 2, Bates 0, Cu 0
Quarter scores: 14-18, 29-36, 52-59, 72-71
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