Stinging shockers from Maroons, KaTropa

Big upsets on different fronts rocked the crowded basketball schedule last week.

University of the Philippines struck the most crushing blow for underdogs on the third week of Season 80 of the UAAP basketball tournament as the lowly Fighting Maroons brought down the heavily favored defending champion La Salle Green Archers, 98-87, Saturday at MOA Arena.

Before the day was through, the TNT Katropa broke the hearts of a lot of Barangay Ginebra fans at the Smart Araneta Araneta Coliseum by inflicting the worst beating of 121-92 in the tournament on the Gin Kings, who had long been on top of the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup standings.

Sizzling outside shooting proved the key to both victories with UP unloading 16 triples to tie the record set by University of Santo Tomas in 2010 and TNT drilling home 17 treys, six each courtesy of import Glen Rice Jr. and crack guard Jason Castro.

The win moved the Maroons into a tie with the Archers at 3-1 behind the leading Ateneo Blue Eagles, whose 3-0 slate includes a 92-71 rout of the Maroons last Sept. 13. More importantly, the Maroons now loom as a legitimate contender in the Final Four race in a big turnaround for the perennial doormat of the league.

TNT also caught up with Ginebra at 8-3 going into yesterday’s final twin bill of the two-round eliminations pitting Meralco, the new leader at 8-2, against grand slam-seeking San Miguel Beer (7-3) and NLEX (7-3) against Star (6-4).

The Bolts and the Road Warriors get to complete the top four quarterfinal cast with the KaTropa and the Kings by hurdling their final assignments, but the Beermen and Hotshots can complicate matters by pulling through.

Meralco can actually afford to lose to SMB and still clinch a top four position with the Beermen if Star beats NLEX. But if the Road Warriors win, the Beermen must prevail to join a five-way tie at 8-3 for the four premium slots with Meralco, TNT, NLEX and Ginebra. In this scenario, Ginebra, under the PBA quotient system tiebreak, will end up fifth and outside the top four cast having also lost earlier to Meralco and SMB.

If Star and Meralco win, there will be a four-way tie for No. 4 at 7-4 among the Hotshots, the Beermen, the Road Warriors and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. NLEX will have the edge here with its earlier conquests of SMB and Rain or Shine.

The playoffs among the eight quarterfinalists, where the top four teams will enjoy twice-to-beat bonus, will pit No. 1 against No. 8, No. 2 against No. 7, No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 against No. 5. The winners of the 1-8 and 4-5 duels will be pitted in the best-of-five semifinals. It will be the survivors of the 2-7 and 3-6 clashes in the other semis showdown.