By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – University of the East (UE) and University of the Philippines (UP) took big wins in their second games in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, October 5, at the Philsports Arena.
UE defeated Far Eastern University (FEU), 76-66, after a 15-game losing skid in the tournament. This win is their first since October 30, 2019, when they won over National University, 79-77.
“Meron lang kaming lapses down the stretch, but still, the bottom line is the game plan was followed,” said UE coach Jack Santiago.
The Red Warriors set the tone of the game in the third frame with a 25-8 blast for a 63-44 lead heading to the final quarter. The lead extended to 21, 65-44, after a Kyle Paranada bucket, which held off the Tamaraws and drove to UE’s first win after a three-year drought.
Paranada led UE with 25 points. On the other hand, Patrick Sleat finished 15 markers for the Tamaraws.
Meanwhile, defending champion UP upset Adamson University (AdU) in a thrilling overtime, 87-78.
Trailing by 16 points in the first half, Terrence Fortea stepped up for the Fighting Maroons and pushed the team ahead in the second half to erase the double-digit deficit and take the lead, 71-70, 3:38 left.
Joem Sabandal was then fouled by James Spencer, and easily put three free throws to send the game to overtime. From there, UP did not hold back and made back-to-back triples to clinch their second win.
Zavier Lucero led UP with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Malick Diouf finished with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double on top of four blocks, and four assists.
Jerom Lastimosa did the work for the Soaring Falcons with 25 markers, six rebounds and six assists as they dropped to 0-2.
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