Quentin Millora-Brown (right) plucks down 19 rebounds for the Finals-bound Maroons, where he has a shot at a UAAP crown in a one-and-done season. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO .
University of the Philippines waited all season long for another shot at redemption. The Fighting Maroons are now just two wins away from that long-awaited goal.
The Maroons did not need to fish out their twice-to-beat card to book the first seat in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Finals after disposing of University of Santo Tomas in convincing fashion, 78-69, on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We took to heart what happened to us last season and I believe it all started from the first day of our practice this year,” coach Goldwin Monteverde said. “Our goal was to take it one game at a time, and now we have reached the Finals.”
UP has now entered the title bout for the fourth consecutive time, winning the championship in its first try in Season 84 to end a 36-year wait, as the Maroons await a foe as defending champion La Salle and Adamson are playing the other half of the Final Four at press time. The Green Archers have a win-once advantage over the Soaring Falcons.
The Fighting Maroons lost the title series to La Salle and now two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao. Before that, UP fell to Ateneo after winning Game 2, and the Maroons will do what it takes this time to be on the winning side.
‘Fanning the fire’
“[Our losses in the past seasons] are fanning the fire inside us,” Harold Alarcon, who shot 14 of his 16 points in the second half when the Fighting Maroons took command, told the Inquirer in Filipino. “We are doing a lot to prepare for the championship again, and I am confident that we can show what we can do as a team and that we can give a good fight in the Finals.”
“It’s a best-of-three series so we’re looking forward to preparing to be at our best come the [championship] series,” Monteverde said.
“For me, it’s just all about winning, whatever it takes,” Quentin Millora-Brown said after pulling down 19 rebounds and swatting away four Santo Tomas shots. “Everyone needs to step up. Everyone knows that there’s gonna be sacrifices that need to be made and just be ready to do whatever it takes.
“It was a hard-fought game for us, coaches prepared us for what we need to do,” the one-and-done big man said. “They said from the start it’s gonna be a war going in there. We have two more games we have to lock in to.”
The Growling Tigers managed to keep in pace with their more experienced foes and even led at halftime, 35-33, before the Maroons finally got their bearings back to build cushions of as comfortable as 11 points.
Gallant effort
Santo Tomas tried gallantly to munch at that deficit, only for Francis Lopez, Alarcon and Reyland Torres to keep the Tigers at bay. Lopez led the Maroons with 16 points and six rebounds, and Torres had 13 points apart from seven rebounds.
After shrugging off a shaky first half, Alarcon, who was coming off a career-high 33 points, to lead UP in its last elimination match against University of the East.
“I admit that in the first half I was forcing it, so that’s why the game was going to me. So I adjusted in the second half and took what they were giving to me and just found a way,” Alarcon said.
“I felt they were a bit tense in the first half. Sometimes, it’s like that in our wish to win,” Monteverde explained. “Sometimes you rush it, but then in the second half, I believe they trusted each other more and understood that there will be challenges so we need to play together.”