Maroons disarm Archers, end 21-year UAAP semis absence

MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines demolished De La Salle University, 97-81, to end a 21-year Final Four drought in Season 81 UAAP men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Fighting Maroons just needed a strong offensive performance in the second period to pull away in the game and secure the No. 3 seed in the Final Four stage.

Juan Gomez de Liano led UP’s balanced attack with 27 points while his older brother Javi added 19, highlighted by four triples.

Bright Akhuetie also played big for the Diliman-based team with 16 points and 20 rebounds.

“I just painted to them the picture of us not having accolades in the last decades. They were able to grasp the idea of chance to make history as far as the UP community is concerned,” said Fighting Maroons head coach Bo Perasol.

UP and La Salle ended up tied after the elimination phase with identical 8-6 win-loss cards but the Fighting Maroons will grab the No. 3 seed due to superior quotient. and face the second seed Adamson.

The Green Archers slid to No. 4 and if FEU (7-6) beats the Soaring Falcons (10-3) on Sunday, the Taft-based team will figure in a playoff with the Tams for the last Final Four slot.

Justine Baltazar paced the Green Archers with 22 points while Aljun Melecio added 19 but was 7-of-17 from the field.

From a 25-17 lead after the first period, the Fighting Maroons stretched their lead to 23 points with a 27-12 salvo in the second quarter to carry a 52-29 advantage entering the break.

La Salle never recovered from those early blows by UP and failed to secure the automatic Final Four slot for the second straight game.