The University of the Philippines (UP) is back on track after the loss to Adamson University, with a back-to-back win over De La Salle University (DLSU) and University of the East (UE), in the second round of the 84th UAAP Senior Men’s Basketball eliminations being held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory over its second match with UE on April 26, 2022 gave the UP Fighting Maroons a 10-2 win-loss card, securing for it its solo second seed and its place in the playoffs with a twice-to-beat advantage together with the yet-to-be-beaten Ateneo de Manila University.
Earlier, UP’s 8-game winning streak was dashed by Adamson University, 58-66, on their second match on April 21, 2022, but UP recovered through its second-round victory over Final Four candidate DLSU, 72-69, on April 23, 2022, giving it the momentum to trample for the second time the winless UE, 81-66.
After securing an 18-8 advantage over UE upon a dunk by Zavier Lucero in the first quarter, UP never lost a 9-point edge and secured its biggest lead, 81-61, on a shot downtown also by Lucero, a minute and fifty seconds into the final buzzer.
“Itong remaining games namin—although alam namin nasa top 2 na kami—we need to work on and continue building momentum towards the Final Four,” UP Men’s Basketball Team coach Goldwin Monteverde said post-game.
UP has two more games before the semifinals, one on April 28, 2022 against the University of Santo Tomas, which it subdued in the first round, 98-82; and the last one on May 1, 2022, against ADMU, to which UP lost in the first round, 81-90.
The scores:
UP vs DLSU — Tamayo 23, Diouf 15, Rivero 11, Lucero 9, Fortea 8, Cagulangan 4, Spencer 2 = 72.
UP vs UE — Lucero 20, Rivero 17, Cansino 8, Tamayo 7, Eusebio 7, Diouf 6, Abadiano 6, Cagulangan 4, Fortea 4, Spencer 2 = 81.
Reporting and photos by the UAAP Media Group.