AN ERROR-PRONE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons banked on big baskets from CJ Cansino and Jan Felicilda to get away with an 80-76 overtime verdict over the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Cansino and Felicilda found their marks with less than 15 seconds left and pushed the Fighting Maroons to their fifth straight win, giving them a firmer grip on the solo lead in the 86th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
Felicilda, who banged in a game-high 17 points, scored the final basket for UP with seven seconds left off Cansino’s assist.
Cansino, who drilled in 14 points, kept the Fighting Maroons out of range in the 13-second mark, with his split charity.
Assistant coach Christian Luanzon said many lessons have been learned going into the Fighting Maroons’ game against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Saturday.
“It (the win) was big for us as a team, even though we turned the ball over a lot of times in this game, this is the highest so far with 21. But I think it was just one of those games that we were fortunate that FEU was only able to convert 13 of them (to points),” said Luanzon.
Malick Diouf shone bright with another double-double, hitting 11 points and 20 rebounds.
Diouf’s jumper with 1:47 left finally allowed UP to gain some distance, 77-73, in the extra time.
Francis Lopez added nine points and 11 rebounds, and his missed jumper with two ticks left in regulation sent the contest into an extra five minutes.
Jorick Bautista poured in 26 points for winless FEU, including the trey that sent the game into overtime with 32 ticks to go.
It was a double celebration as UP staved off Far Eastern University, 64-61, to maintain its faultless start in the Women’s Basketball Tournament.The Fighting Maroons have now improved their record to 4-0 to take a solo lead at the top of the standings. They have accrued an average winning margin of 13.75 in their past four games.
The Scores:
UP 80 – Felicilda 17, Cansino 14, Diouf 11, Lopez 9, Alarcon 8, Torres 6, Torculas 6, Cagulangan 5, Alter 4, Pablo 0, Gonzales 0, Briones 0, Belmonte 0.
FEU 76 – Bautista 26, Gonzales 19, Torres 9, Ona 8, Sleat 7, Torres 4, Alforque 3, Faty 0, Bagunu 0, Buenaventura 0, Competente 0, Montemayor 0.
Quarterscores: 17-13, 35-38, 54-56, 68-68, 80-76
Games Saturday
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
9 a.m. – Ateneo vs FEU (Women)
11 a.m. – UP vs UST (Women)
2 p.m. – Ateneo vs FEU (Men)
4 p.m. – UP vs UST (Men)