Mark Belmonte nailed the key basket while Harold Alarcon provided the hustle, lifting University of the Philippines to a 72-65 win over Super Basketball League club Taiwan Beer for their fifth victory in the 2024 Interleague Play on Thursday at Keelung Municipal Gym in Taiwan.
Clinging to a 67-65 lead with 1:47 remaining, Belmonte hit a dagger three-pointer to give UP a five-point cushion.
On the next possession, Gani Stevens missed two critical free throws, but Alarcon crashed the boards for an offensive rebound, keeping the possession alive.
JD Cagulangan missed a three-point attempt on the following play, but once again, Alarcon was there to grab the offensive rebound, allowing UP to run more time off the clock.
Stevens then contributed by cleaning up misses from both Cagulangan and himself, before Gerry Abadiano sealed the win with two free throws with 15.28 seconds left.
Belmonte finished the game with six points, while Cagulangan and Alarcon added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Alarcon also grabbed six rebounds.
Francis Lopez led UP with 17 points and seven rebounds.
UP will next face Bangkok University on Friday before closing out its campaign against Bank of Taiwan on Saturday.
Cheng Chunlung led Taiwan Beer with 22 points, while Joof Alasan contributed 11 points.
The Scores:
UP 72 – Lopez 17, Cagulangan 13, Alarcon 12, Briones 7, Fortea 6, Belmonte 6, Abadiano 5, Bayla 2, Ududo 2, Alter 2, Stevens 0, Walker 0.
Taiwan Beer 65 – Cheng 22, Alasan 11, Chu 9, Early 8, Lu 4, Fan 4, Tseng 3, Lin 2, Lu 2, Chen 0.
Quarterscores: 19-15, 39-35, 57-50, 72-65.
