ANTIPOLO—University of the Philippines dug deep down the stretch to hold off University of the East, 62-56, in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Ynares Center here.
The Fighting Maroons, who notched their third consecutive win, blew a double-digit lead before making the necessary stops to outplay the Red Warriors in the endgame.
UP shut down UE’s top gunner Rey Suerte, who was held to a season-low four points on 2-of-15 shooting from the field.
Suerte came into the match as the league’s best scorer averaging 22.8 points per game.
“That’s what we’re really worried about that if we’re going to clamp down on Rey Suerte, the others will step up and that’s just what happened. All the rest like Diakhite, Abanto, Tolentino stepped up to the plate and scored for them,” UP head coach Bo Perasol told reporters.
“Our intention was really to limit their output. They’re number three in scoring, number one in fastbreak points. We had lots of lapses, but in the end, it was Jaydee (Tungcab) who saved us with his 3-point shot at the corner.”
Tungcab only had one made field goal and it turned out to be the biggest shot of the game. He was 0-of-2 before hitting a triple that gave UP a 60-56 cushion with 1:38 remaining.
Bright Akhuetie had 16 points for UP while Javi Gomez de Liaño added 15. Kobe Paras tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the second-running Maroons rise to 4-1.
With Suerte neutralized, Alex Diakhite powered the Warriors with 21 points and 17 rebounds but his herculean effort wasn’t enough as his team dropped to 1-4.
POST-GAME INTERVIEW