UP keeps Final 4 bid alive, pushes NU to 6th straight loss

FILE — UP Maroons celebrate. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

University of the Philippines clung on to its Final Four hopes with a 71-66 victory over struggling National University in the UAAP Season 79 seniors’ basketball tournament Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Fighting Maroons leveled with NU at 4-8 but the Bulldogs dropped their sixth straight game.

UP, however, had to first extinguish Jay-J Alejandro’s hot hand in the final minutes of the game as he scored eight straight points to cut the Fighting Maroons’ 12-point lead to 70-66.

Mohammad Salim had a chance to make it a one-possession game but he missed a layup with around 15 seconds left.

Though their initial goal of three games has been surpassed, UP head coach Bo Perasol said they’re still not looking too far ahead.

He added the final two minutes of the game wasn’t the best basketball they played, but a win is a win.

“We played in between, if you’re not able to get splendid games from Jett [Manuel], Gelo [Vito] and Javi [Gomez De Liaño] we would’ve folded in the end,” said Perasol. “Mabuti lumamang kami nang malaki laki and it shows how we fought.”

“We’re happy we exceeded the three-win goal we’ve set.”

Manuel had a team-high 19 points to lead UP while Vito and Gomez De Liaño had 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Alejandro had 23 points to lead the Bulldogs while Matt Salem added 12.