MANILA, Philippines – University of the Philippines snapped a 12-game skid against last year’s runner-up Far Eastern University with a stunning 76-63 triumph Thursday in the 74th UAAP men’s basketball.
Spry marksman Jett Manuel erupted for 20 points for the usual-cellar dwellers UP, which is now at 2-3, with more than half of his output scattered in the telling payoff period at the Araneta Coliseum.
Manuel, the up-and-coming sophomore, fired in all but one of UP’s 10 points for a 59-49 buffer since his buzzer-beating jumper to close out an impressive third.
“Manuel’s emergence gives us extra firepower ,” said the articulate head coach of the Maroons, Ricky Dandan.
But Manuel did not have to carry the cudgels by himself as Mike Silungan, Anjelo Montecastro, and Alinko Mbah chipped in with a combined 44 points.
Silungan followed up Manuel’s onslaught with a timely triple and then Mbah scored five straight points to give the Maroons an 18-point lead with less than two minutes left.
“They did what it takes to win,” added Dandan, whose squad has bowed down to the Tamaraws after the 61-56 victory in August 28, 2004.
It was also the second time in recent memory that UP toppled a squad above .500, with the first over champion Ateneo in 2009.
The Tamaraws, who managed only 10 assists, though, tried to flip the script in their favor but could only come within a point several times in the third quarter.
Reigning league MVP RR Garcia finished with 17 points for FEU, which dropped to 4-2 record at the tail end of the first round.
Unlike the Tamaraws, the Fighting Maroons meant business from the get-go as they put the clamps on as early as the first period.
UP held the Tamaraws to just 12 points in the opening quarter, before outscoring them, 16-13, in the next period for a slim 28-25 lead.
Paced by league-leader Mbah, UP finally dominated the boards, 42-38, since getting whipped by La Salle in the rebounding department in their last match.
“This is the first time we outrebounded someone and actually win,” said Dandan.