UNIVERSITY of the Philippines turned what was expected into a close encounter into a one-sided affair, mauling a hapless La Salle side in a 97-67 blowout to move closer to another title conquest in the 86th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
Playing without an injured Malick Diouf in the first part of the second half, the Fighting Maroons were in control from the second quarter and maintained command until the finish in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals series Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Leading the assault was Harold Alarcon, who went on to finish with a career-high 21 points for the Fighting Maroons, who can claim their third crown overall if they sweep their series in Game 2 at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
“The boys really executed the game plan. The defense was really great. We just have to sustain and know that the finals is not just one game, but a series. The boys just got to know what to work, and be ready for the next game,” said Fighting Maroons’ coach Goldwin Monteverde.
La Salle coach Topex Robinson said: “UP showed us why they’re the no. 1 team right now. At this point, we cannot look for excuses, other than to really bounce back Sunday.”
Francis Lopez and Luis Pablo took over in the third period as the Maroons neutralized the imposing presence of Green Archer big man Kevin Quiambao, to first move up by 16 points, 57-41, in the opening minutes of the second half.
A mismatch between UP’s Sean Torculas and La Salle sniper Evan Nelle allowed the Diliman cagers to keep their 21-point spread at 72-51.
When Diouf, who hurt his right hand in the second quarter, finally returned in the last period, UP’s top MVP candidate helped his teammates stay up by 21 once again as he assisted Alarcon to a driving layup, 83-61, with 5:13 left.
UP’s edge rose to 22 at 87-65, off Alarcon’s two charities in the final 4:02, before the Maroons grabbed their biggest lead of 30 in the last 1:24 off Terrence Fortea’s trey with the final score.
The Fighting Maroons started their breakaway towards the end of the first half, with Joel Cagulangan unloading two triples to push UP from a 42-39 lead to a 50-41 halftime edge.
The Green Archers, with Michael Phillips making 12 points in the early minutes of the game, struggled before the start of the second half with 11 of 18 total turnovers.
And UP took advantage of this by scoring 17 points off La Salle’s errors.