Top team or cellar dweller—they’re all the same to Maroons, who notch fifth straight win

Malick Diouf hammers one down for the Maroons. UAAP MEDIA

Two wins into the second round of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament, University of the Philippines (UP) continues to tread cautiously—even when the Fighting Maroons have moved within two wins of a return trip to the Final Four.

“You cannot take teams lightly this season. You have respect each one of them, so we carefully prepare for every game we play,’’ said UP coach Goldwyn Monteverde after the defending champions chalked up their eighth win at the expense of the Adamson Falcons, 91-70, on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Carl Tamayo sizzled in the third quarter as the Maroons, who have lost just once so far this season, streaked to their fifth consecutive win to keep a vise-like grip on the tournament lead.

“We treat all teams in the UAAP equally, whether it’s Ateneo, UE (University of the East) or UST (University of Santo Tomas),’’ said Tamayo after banging in nine of his 18 points in the pivotal third when the defending champion Fighting Maroons cut loose for good.

The latter two teams Tamayo mentioned belong in the lower half of the standings, and in their clash also on Wednesday, UE earned a lifeline via an 81-51 rout that further plunged UST into a spiral.

CJ Payawal buried five threes and hit all of his 17 points in the second half but it was Luis Villegas who helped key the rout when he scored 13 of his 16 points in the first two quarters to lead the Warriors to a 45-23 halftime spread.

By snapping out of a three-game slide, UE collected its fourth win in nine games to keep the semifinals in its sights.

“I’m so happy with their performance, especially from the guys coming off the bench. It was a total team effort and it helped a lot,’’ said UE coach Jack Santiago after the Warriors produced 35 bench points and 22 points off turnovers.

In a fray

UE’s CJ Payawal during a game against UST in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament. UAAP PHOTO

The Warriors are jammed up with a pack of schools within a win of each other and are trying to crawl out of the fray. The Fighting Maroons don’t have that problem right now, with National U running second and a two-game wall between them.

The Bulldogs rose to second with a 78-74 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles later in the night for their sixth win in nine outings.

But UP battled Adamson like there was no tomorrow. From a slim five-point halftime advantage, the Maroons quickly scored 11 straight points that the Falcons found no answer to and seized control, erasing the ghost of that narrow overtime triumph during their first meeting.

“We are not really looking where we are at the standings. What’s important is the improvement that we make toward the end of the season,’’ said Monteverde, whose Maroons face the Warriors next.

Tamaraws triumph

A victory over the Warriors on Saturday and against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws next week will be enough to guarantee UP a semifinals appearance.

FEU on Wednesday rolled to its fourth straight victory after dismissing shorthanded La Salle, 57-53.

The Maroons will face La Salle, UST and Ateneo in their final three assignments prior to the playoffs.

Malick Diouf scored a career-high 20 points on seven of 11 shooting on top of eight rebounds and five steals for the Maroons, while showing his leadership on the floor.

“Basketball is all about making decisions, so I think we made better decisions in the third quarter, which led to a better offense,’’ said Monteverde.

Adamson suffered a pair of casualties while chasing down the Maroons with Vince Magbuhos hurting his right knee and Jerom Lastimosa spraining his right ankle when he accidentally landed on JD Cagulangan’s foot after a reverse layup.

Lastimosa finished with 19 points before he was carried off to the bench while Cedrick Manzano added 10 points for the Falcons, who skidded to their fifth loss in eight outings.

Adamson only had seven turnovers but couldn’t deflect UP’s firepower that included 40 points from the bench.

The Falcons still have more than just a mathematical chance of making the semifinals—slightly better odds than the Tigers, who now have lost seven straight matches after opening the season with a win and a lot of promise.

Adama Faye muscled his way to 23 points and 18 rebounds, but his monster numbers weren’t enough to pull UST out of its rut. INQ