By NIKOLE JAVIER
Defending champion University of the Philippines outplayed Far Eastern University, 73-59, and firmed up its bid for No. 1in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
James Spencer’s career-high 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and Malick Diouf’s 20 rebounds and three blocks on top of 11 points helped power the Maroons to their seventh straight win and 10th overall in 11 games.
Carl Tamayo contributed 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting as the Maroons moved to within a win from clinching the No. 1 seed.
The Maroons slowly but surely pulled away from the Tamaraws beginning the second frame – thanks to their air-tight defense and fiery shooting.
UP even built an imposing 21-point advantage (71-50) in the fourth courtesy of Spencer and JD Cagulangan’s back-to-back triples as they handed the Tamaraws their 7th defeat in 11 games.
Meantime, Ateneo also bolstered its bid for a top two in the semis with a 72-55 win over also-ran University of Santo Tomas.
BJ Andrade and Ange Kouame’s seniority did wonders for the Blue Eagles after finishing with a similar 14-point outing and an additional seven rebounds for the latter in the dominant win.
Forthsky Padrigao also added 10 markers apart from seven rounds in Ateneo’s seventh win against three losses as it inched closer to a semis berth.
The Blue Eagles shrugged off an early surge by the Growling Tigers, 10-3, by closing out the quarter with a blazing 19-0 run to seize the lead and never looked back.
Unleashing another 27-10 run to build its biggest lead of the match of 25 points in the third frame.
Third Game
UP 73 ‒ Spencer 19, Diouf 11, Tamayo 10, Abadiano 9, Lucero 8, Cagulangan 6, Alarcon 6, Galinato 3, Ramos 1, Gonzales 0, Calimag 0, Lina 0, Eusebio 0, Torculas 0, Andrews 0.
FEU 59 ‒ Bautista 12, Anonuevo 10, Tchuente 9, Gonzales 9, Torres 7, Sleat 7, Alforque 3, Sajonia 2, Sandagon 0, Tempra 0, Ona 0, Bagunu 0.
Quarters: 22-18, 43-32, 58-42, 73-59.
Fourth Game
ATENEO 72 — Andrade 14, Kouame 14, Padrigao 10, Koon 9, Ildefonso 5, Garcia 5, Chiu 4, Lazaro 3, Fetalvero 3, Fornilos 3, Ballungay 2, Quitevis 0, Daves 0, Lao 0, Ong 0.
UST 55 — Cabanero 26, Faye 10, Manalang 6, Pangilinan 6, Duremdes 5, Manaytay 2, Calimag 0, Laure 0, Mantua 0, Gesalem 0, Herrera 0.
Quarters: 22-10, 35-27, 62-37, 72-55.
