University of the Philippines weathered a late storm by University of Santo Tomas and eked out a nail-biting 76-73 victory in the Filoil EcoOil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City..
Down by 12, 58-70, inside the last four and a half minutes, the Growling Tigers went on a 15-4 tear capped by Forthsky Padrigao’s booming triple to claw to within 74-73 with 3.5 ticks on the clock.
However, Gerry Abadiano coolly converted his couple of charities to give the Fighting Maroons a more comfortable three-point margin.
Off a timeout, UST still had enough time to make something happen, only to see Christian Manaytay fumble the ball and allow UP to escape with their second straight win.
Abadiano wound up with 13 points, while JD Cagulangan uncorked 18 markers on top of eight assists and two steals and Francis Lopez provided a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Growling Tigers were then paced by Leland Estacio with 16 points, as Padrigao finished with 13 markers, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals and Hinda Tounkara pounded in 16 points and 13 boards. They dropped to 0-2, but not before putting up a fight against UAAP Season 86 finalists De La Salle University and UP in consecutive contests.
Bouncing back from their loss against Far Eastern University, University of the East bucked a slow start to hack out a 72-64 decision over National University.
Precious Momowei was almost unstoppable inside the paint and collected 27 points, 19 rebounds, and two blocks to carry the Red Warriors to a 1-3 standing, and was backstopped by Wello Lingolingo and John Abate who had 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
It was a different story for Emilio Aguinaldo College which leaned on a furious fourth quarter against San Beda University to come onto the scene in style, 76-67.
Meanwhile, Basti Valencia’s 30-point outing powered Arellano University right through San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 105-95.
The scores:
FIRST GAME
EAC 76 — Quinal 15, Doromal 13, Gurtiza 11, Oftana 9, Lucero 7, Pagsanjan 7, Angeles 5, Bacud 5, Umpad 2, Bagay 2, Ochavo 0, Luciano 0, Loristo 0, Doria 0, Ednilag 0.
SAN BEDA 67— Re. Calimag11, Bonzalida 9, Ri. Calimag 8, Estacio 7, Gonzales 5, Sajonia 4, Songcuya 4, Hawkins 4, Tagle 3, Jalbuena 3, Tagala 3, Royo 3, Torres 2, Celzo 1, Alloso 0.
QUARTERS: 15-16, 29-39, 48-56, 76-67.
SECOND GAME
ARELLANO 105 — Valencia 30, Abiera 18, Libang 9, Hemal 7, Ongotan 7, Vinoya 7, Geronimo 6, Dayrit 6, Capulong 5, Espiritu 4, Abiera 2, Borromeo 2, Miller 2, Dela Cruz 0, Barraca 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 95 — Re. Gabat 23, Escobido 12, Aguilar 12, Felebrico 10, Ricio 9, Velasco 8, Maliwat 5, Pascual 5, Ra. Gabat 4, Suico 3, Ronquillo 3, Barroga 1, Lintol 0, Valina 0.
QUARTERS: 31-25, 61-46, 84-65, 105-95.
THIRD GAME
BENILDE 72 — Morales 11, Ancheta 10, Liwag 9, Torres 7, Jalalon 5, Sangco 5, Carillo 5, Ondoa 4, Eusebio 4, Turco 3, Ynot 3, Oli 2, Galas 2, Serrano 2, Cajucom 0.
MAPUA 59 — Cuenco 11, Hubilla 11, Jabonete 10, Bancale 10, Recto 6, Concepcion 5, Igliane 3, Fermin 2, Abdulla 1, Agemenyi 0, Mangubat 0, Ryan 0
QUARTERS: 15-9, 37-21, 52-40, 72-59.
FOURTH GAME
UE 72 — Momowei 27, Lingolingo 12, Abate 10, Mulingtapang 7, Mega 7, Robles 4, Spandoni 3, Cruz-Dumont 1, Galang 1, Go 0, Malaga 0
NU 64 — Palacielo 14, Manansala 12, Jomamoy 6, Garcia 5, Tulabut 5, Figueroa 5, Padrones 4, Santiago 4, Yu 3, Dela Cruz 2, Reyes 2, John 2, Francisco 0, Lim 0, Parks 0.
QUARTERS: 14-19, 33-32, 57-51, 72-64.
FIFTH GAME
UST 73 — Estacio 16, Padrigao 13, Tounkara 13, Cabañero 12, Manaytay 7, Paranada 5, Danting 3, Laure 2, Crisostomo 2, Andrews 0, Pangilinan 0.
UP 76 — Cagulangan 18, Abadiano 13, Lopez 12, Alarcon 11, Briones 6, Ududo 5, Stevens 4, Torres 2, Torculas 2, Alter 2, Felicilda 1, Walker 0, Belmonte 0.
QUARTERS: 21-16, 34-33, 57-48, 76-73.
