FOR FRIEND AND FINAL FOUR
There was very little at stake for University of the Philippines (UP) in its battle against University of the East—which had everything to gain Wednesday night. But Harold Alarcon wanted to honor a graduating teammate.
And the Maroons needed to build momentum heading into the Final Four.
All those objectives were met in a 77-67 thumping of the Red Warriors, who sorely needed the victory for their semifinal bid.
Alarcon had a career-high 33 points in the victory, which he badly wanted not just for his confidence but for teammate JD Cagulangan, the senior guard whose step-back three-pointer three seasons ago ended UP’s 36-year championship drought.
“This is a big win, especially for Maimai (Cagulangan’s nickname) because we offer this season to him,” Alarcon, who allowed UP to end its elimination round on a high note, told reporters in Filipino after leading the Maroons to the Final Four on an 11-3 record.
There, UP will play University of Santo Tomas, the No. 3 seed that hit some sort of a groove in its last encounter. The Tigers’ rout of the Adamson Falcons gave the Maroons some pause—even if they own twice-to-beat protection and a big psychological edge over their foes.
“In terms of results, sure, [we are] at 2-0 [against UST]. But both games were closer than the final score,” assistant coach Christian Luanzon said. “[And] you know, UST is … with the experience, with Forthsky [Padrigao] at the point, also with [Mo] Tounkara and his abilities on both ends, you have [Nic] Cabañero.”
“And in [UST’s] last game they found sort of like a magic bunot (pick from the bench), like what coach Pido [Jarencio] said, [Amiel] Acido. We’re gonna have to prepare for all of them. It’s gonna be a good series,” Luanzon said.
Huge contrast
Alarcon’s performance will be pivotal in the series and after suffering through tough shooting performances lately, the crack guard is happy to rediscover his touch.
The fourth-year guard hit a 12-of-17 clip, a remarkable 70.6 percent shooting, and made five of his eight three-point attempts. He missed just one attempt from the free throw line, picking up 16 of his points in the fourth quarter.
It was a huge contrast to his performance in the last three games of UP, the first two of which the Maroons lost. In the National University’s 20-point beatdown of UP, Alarcon only had two points. He also finished with just two points, missing all his attempts from the field, in a loss to la Salle. When UP climbed out of that skid and beat Far Eastern U, Alarcon made just one of his four attempts from the field.
“My confidence in the last three games was shaky so in this game it all piled up so this is a huge help to myself and my mentality and definitely a big boost going into the Final Four,” he said.
“My shooting in the last three games was a motivation for me because it doesn’t look like me and I just looked for the fire in my heart,” he added.
Against UST, UP will flaunt a core that brought them to the title-bout three years ago: Cagulangan, Alarcon, Terrence Fortea and Gerry Abadiano.
Since then, State U has returned to the Finals two more times only to lose their title to Katipunan neighbor Ateneo and bowing to Kevin Quiambao and La Salle last season—losses that have fueled the Maroons all year.
“We are overeager because we didn’t get the [championship] the last two seasons but our composure is there, the maturity that Maimai and Gerry brings as well as that of the other veterans,” Alarcon said. “It’s also hard to be overeager because sometimes you cannot think straight.”
Quentin Millora-Brown, meanwhile, had 16 points and 12 rebounds for UP.
“I am just finding anything I can do to help the team. That’s the focus of every game,” Millora-Brown said.
