University of the Philippines overcame a shortened rotation, Tuesday at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan before fighting off very game St. Clare College of Caloocan, 67-61, for a 2023 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup quarterfinals berth.
Sean Alter made quite the first impression in the tourney with 12 points and seven rebounds, Reyland Torres poured in 16 points and two rebounds, and Harold Alarcon hit clutch shots as part of his eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists as the Fighting Maroons seized a share of second in Group II at 6-2.
“I’m very happy with the way they responded sa game. It happens talaga e, pero ang maganda rito, players stepped up,” said head coach Goldwin Monteverde, who celebrated his birthday with a quarterfinals berth-clinching win.
UP – playing without Malick Diouf, CJ Cansino, and Francis Lopez, among others – battled with the Saints throughout a match that featured 18 lead changes and seven deadlocks. The two teams were all even at 61-61 with four minutes remaining until Alarcon and Alter connived for six straight points, while their defense firmed up and allowed no more baskets by St. Clare.
“I just landed here four days ago. I’m still adjusted, but I feel like I’ve really hit the ground running,” said Alter, the 6-foot-8 prized Fil-Am recruit.
For the Saints, Megan Galang topped the scoring column with 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Now at 4-4, they need to win their last assignment against UAAP champion Ateneo de Manila University (1-5) to have a shot at the next round.
Jose Rizal University, meantime, ousted Mapua University from quarterfinals contention with a 93-84 decision.
Joshua Guiab just missed out on a double-double with 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, and made two layups in the last 22 seconds to finish the job on the Heavy Bombers’ ascent to 3-4. Newcomers Shawn Argente and Theo Pabico also continued impressing with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
“Yung performance namin, may flashes of brilliance na. Still, I want them to play unconscious; yung maglaro lang ba. Yun yung hinahanapan pa namin ng consistency,” said head coach Louie Gonzalez after they scored back-to-back wins even as they’ve long been out of the running.
The Cardinals, conversely, dropped their second straight to finish the eliminations at 5-4 and just out of the playoff picture. Adrian Nocum fronted their effort with 19 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
Mapua’s loss allows Colegio de San Juan de Letran (6-2) and Lyceum of the Philippines University (6-3) to join University of Perpetual Help (6-1) and College of St. Benilde (6-3) as Group I’s representatives for the next round of the premiere preseason tournament backed by Filoil, EcoOil, Hanes, Akari, Reyes BBQ, BDO, Kalos Sportswear, and Molten.
In another Group I duel, San Sebastian College-Recoletos got the better of Emilio Aguinaldo College, 68-66.
Rommel Calahat delivered the goods with an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with five assists and four blocks, while Reggz Gabat also added 17 points, as the Golden Stags raised their record to 3-5.
“Ang laking tulong ng Filoil, lalo na sa’king three months pa lang dito, para ma-build yung system namin. Siyempre, sobrang saya namin ngayong nakita naming nagawa yung defensive patterns namin,” said first-year head coach John Kallos.
The Generals (2-6) were paced by JP Maguliano and Ralph Robin who both had 15 points.
The Scores:
First Game:
JRU 93 – Guiab 21, Argente 15, Pabico 14, Dela Rosa 13, Mosqueda 12, De Leon 6, Sy 6, De Jesus 4, Barrera 2, Ramos 0, Medina 0, Raymundo 0
Mapua 84 – Nocum 19, Escamis 18, Dalisay 14, Soriano 10, Agustin 7, Garcia 6, Recto 4, Cuenco 2, Igliane 2, Sabsalon 2, Agemenyi 0
Quarterscores: 20-19, 40-38, 68-52, 93-84
Second Game:
San Sebastian 68 – RA Gabat 17, Desoyo 13, Calahat 11, Shanoda 10, Una 6, Felebrico 5, Escobido 4, RL Gabat 2, Pascual 0, Aguilar 0, Concha 0
EAC 66 – Maguliano 15, Robin 15, Cosejo 13, Gurtiza 8, Angeles 4, Ednilag 3, Cosa 3, Balowa 2, Dominguez 2, Ochavo 1, Luciano 0, Umpad 0, Doria 0, Bacud 0
Quarterscores: 18-17, 36-29, 50-56, 68-66
Third Game:
UP 67 – Torres 16, Alter 12, Abadiano 9, Alarcon 8, Felicilda 8, Gagate 6, Cagulangan 4, Briones 2, Pablo 2
St. Clare 61 – Galang 14, Tapenio 10, Ndong 8, Estrada 8, Estacio 7, Sual 6, Acosta 4, Decano 2, Kane 2, Angeles 0, Yanes 0
Quarterscores: 14-21, 33-29, 46-44, 67-61
