UP dumiretso sa ikatlong sunod; La Salle tinakasan ang Adamson

MANILA, Philippines — Tuluy-tuloy ang pana­nalasa ng University of the Philippines matapos pataobin ang Universi­ty of the East, 62-56, sa Season 82 UAAP men’s bas­ketball tournament ka­hapon sa Ynares Center sa Antipolo City.

Isang three-point shot mula sa corner ang isinalpak ni Jaydee Tuncab sa 1:38 minuto ng fourth quarter upang makuha 60-56 kalamangan sa fourth period at patatagin ang kapit ng Fighting Maroons sa ikalawang pu­westo 4-1 sa likod ng Ate­neo Blue Eagles.

Nalasap ng Red Warriors ang kanilang ikaapat na kabiguan.

Sinimulan ng UP ang matatag na first half matapos makuha ang 12-point lead, 39-27, na ka­agad namang binura ng UE sa 56-57 sa huling 1:54 minuto ng fourth pe­riod.

“Our intention is to li­mit their output, they’re No. 3 in scoring No. 1 in fastbreak points. We had lots of lapses, in the end it was Jaydee who saved us with his 3-point shot at the corner, his long game brilliance and defen­ding rey suerte, helped us a lot,” sabi ni coach Bo Persasol.

“Iyong compositon ng team namin, most of my players and my star­ters, a lot of of them are all dominant guys. They real­ly wanted to make sure we have our own plans and own roles,  but in the end, kapag nakakita ng lamang lumalabas ang personal at inidivi­dual ten­dencies to score,” dagdag pa ni Perasol.

Kumana si Nigerian big man Bright Akhuetie 16 puntos, 5 rebounds ka­sama pa ang 3 assists at 3 steals, habang may 15 puntos, 3 rebounds at 2 assists si guard Javi Gomez De Liaño.

Nakapagtala naman ng double-double figures si Kobe Paras 12 points, 10 rebounds at 3 blocks para sa ratsada ng Figh­ting Maroons.

Sa ikalawang laro, wi­­nakasan ng La Salle  Green Archers ang da­la­wang sunod na pag­katalo matapos pulutanin ang Adamson Soa­ring Falcons, 68-61, para  umusad sa 2-3 marka.

Humakot ng 21 points 14 rebounds at 2 blocks si big man Justine Baltazar at tumapos naman si guard Andrei Ca­racut na may 15 markers kasama pa ang krusyal na three-pointer sa huling 28.3 segundo ng fourth quarter para sa panalo ng Green Archers.