Maroons shut Eagles down in OT to draw first blood

Game on Wednesday

(Mall of Asia Arena)

6 p.m. – Ateneo vs UP

MANILA, Philippines – University of the Philippines put the clamps down on reigning champion Ateneo, stamping a defensive masterclass in overtime en route to another 81-74 come-from-behind in Game One of the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball tournament finals behind 11,582 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday.

Picking up where they left off after barging into the Last Dance through a comeback win against La Salle in the do-or-die Final Four, the Fighting Maroons fashioned another never-say-die mantra to now move a win away from the coveted UAAP crown.

The Diliman-based squad unleashed a 10-2 run in the waning minutes of regulation to force OT, where it uncorked the killer 11-0 blow to bolster its elusive goal of ending its 36-year title drought.

Taking the cudgels from Final Four protagonist Carl Tamayo, a bevy of heroes stepped up to the plate this time led by veteran Ricci Rivero with 19 points, four steals and two blocks as UP seemed to finally have the number of its Battle of Katipunan rival.

Zavier Lucero banged in 17 markers and 10 boards while James Spencer chipped in 13 including the big triple in the last 24.7 seconds. Maodo Diouf and Tamayo added 10 apiece.

“Malaking bagay 'yung heart ng team. Defensively, nahirapan ang Ateneo that is really a good team. The key is playing together consistently. ‘Yun ang nakatulong sa amin,” said coach Goldwin Monteverde as UP was also the team that denied Ateneo a 14-0 sweep for an outright finals berth in the elims.

“Wala namang perfect formula (to beat Ateneo) pero importante ‘yung consistency. There’s a lot of ups and downs but we just told the team to never give up,” he added.

With only a day to prepare after erasing a 14-point deficit in the sudden death semifinal to beat No. 3 La Salle, the second-seeded UP played catch-up basketball until trailing by 60-68 in the last four minutes.

But there was just no quitting for the resilient Fighting Maroons.

Lucero strung seven straight points before Spencer drained a long triple to send it OT for the first time in the UAAP finals since 2013.

It was all Fighting Maroons on both sides of the floor from there on, forcing multiple and rare 24-second shot clock violations as they erased an early 70-74 deficit on an 11-0 finishing kick.

Ange Kouame (18), SJ Belangel (17) and Raffy Verano (17) had their numbers but the Blue Eagles, who committed unusual 26 errors, still collapsed for a huge blow on their four-peat bid.

Meanwhile, the UAAP has allowed the temporary bubble exit of registered players Monday to exercise their right to vote in the national polls.

Only a negative antigen test upon re-entry is required for the men’s basketball players, who are under a full bubble set-up, and women’s volleyball players under a closed circuit setting, after casting their votes.

The scores:

UP 81 – Rivero 19, Lucero 17, Spencer 13, Diouf 10, Tamayo 10, Cagulangan 4, Alarcon 4, Abadiano 4, Fortea 0, Ramos 0.

Ateneo 74 – Kouame 18, Belangel 17, Verano 17, Mamuyac 7, Ildefonso 6, Andrade 3, Chiu 2, Koon 2, Daves 2, Tio 0, Padrigao 0.

Quarterscores: 17-19, 32-31, 47-54, 70-70, 81-74 (OT).