Hurrying up
University of the Philippines (UP) looked like they couldn’t wait to be back on their UAAP men’s basketball throne.
And right now, the earliest the Maroons can do that is on Sunday.
And if they play anywhere close to the performance they put on against the Green Archers in Wednesday’s Game 1, there might be no stopping them.
UP manhandled La Salle, 97-67, in Season 86’s Finals opener to turn what was expected to be an electric Game 1 standoff between the top two teams into a lopsided affair at Mall of Asia Arena.
“[The Maroons] executed the game plan a while ago and our defense was really great,” UP coach Goldwin Monteverde said as the Maroons inched closer to a second championship in three seasons.
There are the usual guardrails against complacency. Monteverde sounded off one warning: “We just have to sustain [our performance] and know that the Finals will not be won with one game.”
“We just have to know what to work on right now and be ready for the next game,” Monteverde added as the Maroons brace for La Salle’s retaliation in Game 2 at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Being in the right mind and right emotions in these games is important to us.”
Even veteran guard Harold Alarcon, who finished with a game-high 21 points on 66.7 shooting, knows that getting one crucial win against the Green Archers is not a reason to ease off the gas pedal just yet.
“What I can only say is we can’t celebrate yet, the fight is not yet over and after this, we will focus on the next game,” Alarcon said.
UP’s dominance over La Salle was written all over the stat sheet. The Maroons outperformed the Green Archers on virtually every aspect of their matchup including field goal percentage, rebounding and steals.
And that defense Monteverde made special mention of forced 18 turnovers on La Salle, leading to a 24-2 advantage on points off errors. Helping UP’s defense was La Salle’s poor performance from beyond the arc, where the Archers missed their mark on the way to a 2-of-23 night. UP also locked down newly-minted Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao to just 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in La Salle’s worst loss—and just its fourth defeat—this season.
“When you’re battling La Salle, you’re gonna think about [Evan] Nelle, Kevin,” Monteverde said after snapping La Salle’s nine-game winning streak. “Your focus goes to them because we all know what they could do, the talent that they have. It is important to give them key press. We really gave attention to that.”
Padding their cushionUP didn’t want La Salle to even entertain thoughts of getting ahead of them as the Maroons established an early 12-point lead while riding JD Cagulangan’s hot hands, scoring 11 points including a triple at the buzzer, for a 53-41 lead at the half. As UP exploited La Salle’s clumsiness and poor shooting, the Maroons kept padding their cushion.
Terrence Fortea’s first triple of the game gave UP its biggest lead of 30 points, a margin the team kept intact until the final buzzer.
“Our mindset was it’s just another game. We’re just happy that we got the win and really fought hard for this one,” said Francis Lopez after finishing with 15 points on 45.5 percent shooting and adding 11 rebounds in his first Finals appearance.
“We’ve been practicing for so long, we got the outcome that we want but our mission is to get two wins. We got the first win, we just [have to get] one more,” the Rookie of the Year added.
Lopez wore a black armband in the game, one that was fitted with a blood sugar meter.
“My sugar gets low so I got some device here [in the band]. I have to check it sometimes and I just have to check my sugar [because it] gets low and I feel dizzy,” he said, adding that he was being fed candies during the game to maintain his sugar levels.
But he wasn’t the only one having a sweet time.
JD Cagulangan had 11 points and Gerry Abadiano added 10 points and three steals as UP, which halted a 36-year title drought in Season 84 opposite Ateneo, also showed its experience and the depth of its bench, where it got 41 points.
The Maroons lost their title the following season, also against Ateneo, and don’t want to waste any opportunity to regain that throne.
“It’s the Finals. We gotta fight hard on the boards, [the Maroons] got big guys as well. But I think we were hungrier than them. We’re glad that we got this one and we just gotta focus on the next one,” Lopez said.
Game 2 is on Sunday and despite getting roughed up, La Salle remains defiant that it is still very much in the title picture.
“We’re the hunters now. We’re going to hunt them,” said guard Evan Nelle.
“We have nothing to lose now. [Our] backs are against the wall so we’re going to come out blazing and give it everything we got. Nothing to lose anymore. Game 1 jitters are done. We’re here. We’ll see them in Game 2,” he added. —WITH A REPORT FROM ROMMEL FUERTES JR. INQ
