Desiderio stars anew, tows Maroons past Warriors

MANILA, Philippines — Paul Desiderio once again took matters into his own hands, leading University of the Philippines over University of the East, 84-71, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After hitting a dagger trey to put University of Santo Tomas away for good in their first game of the season, Desiderio made it rain from distance anew, hitting four triples in the third frame alone to help the Fighting Maroons build a comfortable lead en route the payoff period.

Desiderio emptied 14 of his total 28 markers in that pivotal quarter to pave the way for a 64-49 lead in the fourth.

Import Ibrahim Ouattara chimed in 14 markers to go with Jun Manzo's 10 and the Gomez de Liano brothers' combined 16. They led by as many as 23 in the game.

The victory propelled UP back to the winning column after bowing to Ateneo de Manila University earlier this week. They now flaunt a 2-1 record in the standings.

The Fighting Maroons are now 7-10 since Bo Perasol took over in 2016. UP had a sorry 7-77 win loss card in five seasons before his arrival as head coach.

The Red Warriors, who drew much of their scoring production from skipper Clark Derige's 21 points, fell to 0-3.