UP's Perasol rues defensive lapses in loss to UST

MANILA, Philippines — The UP Fighting Maroons were on the verge of tightening their hold of the second spot in the UAAP men's basketball tournament against UST on Wednesday.

Leading 78-74 with less than two minutes of regulation left, the Maroons could've held on for the victory.

But it would be the Tigers coming out on top, after a 10-point barrage enabled them to pull off the win.

UP head coach Bo Perasol, who returned for his first game back from a two-game suspension, lamented defensive lapses that would've prevented the meltdown.

"We were also able to get the lead with less than two minutes to go. The unfortunate thing there for us is that we were not able to make stops when it mattered," Perasol said after the game.

"We fouled first, we give up the two points. Although we were trying to stop their 3-point shooting, they were able to take the 3-point shot again," he added.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Brent Paraiso and Renzo Subido put the game out of UP's reach, giving the Tigers a 82-78 lead with 26.7 left.

But Perasol does not want to dwell on the loss. Rather, the UP mentor wants his team to take the good things from this game.

"There's no sense of pounding it hard to our team right now... It could've gone the either way. Ang ganda ng pinakita ni Kobe despite na may injury yung shoulder niya. Si Jaybie Mantilla, si David Murrell," he said.

"At the end of the day we just have to take whatever positives we can take in this game," he added.

The Maroons hope to bounce back win when they face the Adamson Soaring Falcons in Antipolo on Sunday.