Trailing by two with 50 seconds left in the game, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons put up consecutive clutch baskets to put off the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 71-65, and lifted them to its fourth win of the 2017 FilOil Flying V Pre-season Premier Cup, Wednesday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Cebuanos Paul Desiderio and Jun Manzo sent the Maroons into the victory. The former fired a clutch trey, 11.9 seconds left the game, before the latter sealed the win with a transition layup.
Manzo ended up with 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists to pace the now 4-1 Fighting Maroons. UP dragged FEU to the same 4-1 slate after dealing the latter its first loss.
Desiderio, for his part, finished with 12 points, despite struggling throughout the match, but made the ones when it mattered the most.
“Pasalamat lang din ako kay coach Bo [Perasol], kasi first to third wala akong na-shoot, di ba,” the fourth-year forward said. “Laging sinasabi ni coach na, ‘Pag open ka, itira mo. Pati team mates ko, kaya nagka-kumpiyansa ko nitong huli lang.”
The Maroons’ five-point lead at the half off a Manzo buzzer-beating three was extended to eight in the middle of the third period. Noah Webb surprised with a clutch trey, before Manzo scored inside to push it to 42-34.
FEU then buckled down on defense to eventually take the lead at 53-50 before pushing it to ten, 64-54, three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Maroons, however, did not back down and unleashed a 5-0 run to move to within one, 67-68, before that Desiderio clutch trey to restore UP’s lead for good. Manzo then sealed the win with a transition layup, sending the Diliman side to a tie with FEU in the standings.
Ibrahim Quattara finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Perasol was pleased with how his wards responded after being down by double digits. “What was important was we did not lost focus when we were down.”
“We were down because we cannot score, but we were defending really well,” Perasol furthered.
Arvin Tolentino led the Tamaraws with 12 points and four rebounds. Axel Inigo added 10 markers.
The Fighting Maroons will face the in-form San Sebastian College-Recoletos next Wednesday, June 7 at 1:30 pm. The Morayta-based squad will try to shake off this loss when they face group leaders Adamson University on Sunday, June 4, also at 1:30 pm.
The Scores:
UP (71) – Manzo 13, Desiderio 12, Quattara 12, Lao 9, Dario 7, Gomez de Liano Ja 7, Webb 5, Ricafort 2, Lim 2, Prado 2, Harris 0, Romero 0, Vito 0.
FEU (68) – Tolentino 12, Inigo 10, Bienes 9, Orizu 7, Ramirez 6, Nunag 6, Escoto 6, Tuffin 5, Comboy 2, Ebona 2, Bayquin 2, Parker 1, Trinidad 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20, 38-32, 50-53, 71-68.
