Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Diego Dario banked the go-ahead three from the top of the arc to rescue University of the Philippines from the clutches of Emilio Aguinaldo College, 61-59, for its third win in the 2017 Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup Wednesday Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The fourth-year guard took the spotlight in the frantic finish as he rose for the game-winner against the trailing defense of Sidney Onwubere with 7.7 seconds left.
The Generals still had a chance to force overtime, but Francis Munsayac flubbed a jumper as the buzzer sounded.
“It was a lucky shot by Diego,” said coach Bo Perasol of the shot. “I think we closed the game really bad but Diego’s shot bailed us out.”
Dario finished with 14 points on a 4-of-8 sniping from threes, while Paul Desiderio led the Fighting Maroons with 18 markers, four rebounds, and two assists as the Diliman crew racked their third straight win.
Juan Gomez de Liaño chipped in nine points, eight boards, and three dimes in the victory.
Perasol praised UP’s resolve as it crawled back from a 19-5 deficit in the first quarter.
“We started flat but we calmed down ourselves and it was good that we were able to bounce back and it all started with our defense,” he said.
However, the Fighting Maroons almost squandered the victory as they lost hold of a 58-55 edge after a Jun Manzo layup with 24.4 ticks on the clock.
Munsayac drove for a layup, followed by a steal and a fastbreak from Juju Bautista to push EAC up, 59-58 with 12.7 seconds remaining.
That, however, was answered right back by Dario on the other end for the game-winner.
Jerome Garcia led the Generals (1-3) with 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Munsayac had 11 markers, four boards, and two dimes.
The Scores:
UP 61 – Desiderio 18, Dario 14, Gomez de Liaño 9, Lim 6, Manzo 5, Vito 5, Quattara 4, Webb 1, Ricafort 0, Harris 0, Prado 0, Romero 0.
EAC 59 – Garcia 11, Munsayac 11, Onwubere 10, Laminou 8, Guzman 6, Bautista 5, Diego 4, Pascua 2, Gonzales 2, J. Mendoza 0, I. Mendoza 0, Tampoc 0, Corilla 0, Neri 0.
Quarters: 6-19, 24-29, 41-39, 61-59.