By NIKOLE JAVIER
Jojo Antiporda produced a 13-point third quarter show and helped lift University of the East to a 78-68 win over University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Antiporda turned out to be a “magic pick” for coach Jack Santiago as he came through with an array of good jumps – some of them came from way beyond the 3-point arc as the Warriors notched their first back-to-back wins in years.
The win likewise improved UE’s record to 3-2 while handing UST its fourth straight defeat in five starts in the country’s premier collegiate league.
In a follow-up to their gigantic 81-74 win over well-heeled La Salle side, the Warriors, holders of 18 titles, also drew big games from Nikko Paranada and Luis Villegas who erupted for 17 points each.
Villegas also grabbed 13 boards to complete a double-double apart from posting five assists and three steals.
His 3-point shot gave UE a huge breather after taking a 73-60 advantage with 1:28 to go.
Adame Faye, who ended his 26-minute and 10-second stint late in the third quarter has not seen the end of the regulation for two straight games after being slapped with a disqualifying foul. He finished with 11 points, though.
Despite Ivan Lazarte’s back-to-back baskets for the Tigers with half a minute to play, UE’s Harvey Pagsanjan held down the fort for the Red Warriors with two free throws.
“Especially iyong mga guys like Harvey and Antipoda for the last four games medyo talagang they were struggling. I’m so happy that nagising na sila and really this is a team effort,” said Santiago.
Nic Cabanero paced UST with a double-double outing of 19 points and 14 rebounds.
The scores:
UE 78 ‒ Villegas 17, N. Paranada 17, Antiporda 13, Stevens 11, Pagsanjan 5, Payawal 5, K. Paranada 4, Sawat 4, Abatayo 2, Beltran 0, Remogat 0, Guevarra 0, Alcantara 0, Langit 0, Lingo-lingo 0.
UST 68 ‒ Cabanero 19, Lazarte 12, Faye 11, Manalang 9, Pangilinan 8, Manaytay 5, Duremdes 2, Calimag 1, Mantua 1, Garing 0, Herrera 0.
Quarters: 10-13, 28-29, 55-49, 78-68.
