Maroons escape Red Warriors to enter UAAP Final 4

MANILA, Philippines -- The UP Fighting Maroons punched the first ticket to the UAAP Season 86 Final Four after surviving a scare from the UE Red Warriors, 79-72, Wednesday afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

It is UP's fifth straight season that they barged into the playoffs.

Trailing by as much as 13 points, UE caught fire and eventually tied the game at 69 with less than four minutes remaining following back-to-back 3-pointers by Jack Cruz-Dumont.

Malick Diouf sank a pair of free throws, which was then followed by a floater by CJ Cansino, as UP took a four-point lead, 73-69, with 2:44 left.

After a pair of misses from the free throw line by Precious Momowei, the two teams exchanged messy possessions.

Cruz-Dumont, however, punched in another three pointer with 1:21 remaining to cut the lead to one, 73-72.

UE had the golden opportunity to take the lead, but Abdul Sawat missed badly, which ultimately swung the momentum to UP's side.

An alley-oop finish by Francis Lopez with 33.3 seconds left gave the Fighting Maroons a three-point lead late, 75-72.

The Red Warriors had the chance to tie the game, but the stifling defense of UP was too much for them as they had no choice but to settle for a Rey Remogat heave from way beyond which missed everything.

After a split from the free throw line by JD Cagulangan that gave UP a 76-72 lead, Ethan Galang had a costly turnover as Diouf stole the ball.

The game then turned into a free throw contest for UP as they made their freebies.

Diouf had a monster double-double for UP, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and five steals.

He was followed by Cansino who had 17 points and a game-high +17.

Cruz-Dumont had an all-around game for UE with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.

Momowei followed suit with 14 points and 15 rebounds, but he had seven turnovers.

UP is currently on top of the food chain with a 9-2 record.

UE, meanwhile, dropped to sixth place with a 4-7 slate.