Francis Lopez and Gani Stevens powered University of the Philippines to a dominant 84-45 victory over the Taiwan Professional Basketball League United select team, securing their third straight win in the 2024 Interleague Play on Monday at Keelung Gym in Taiwan.
Lopez and Stevens led the way, with Lopez – last season’s Rookie of the Year – scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking two shots.
Meanwhile, Stevens contributed a double-double, tallying 13 points and 16 rebounds.
With the two players making an impact on both ends of the court, UP extended a 19-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes to a 40-19 cushion by halftime.
Mark Belmonte also played a key role during UP’s 30-point third quarter, taking the solo lead in the Taiwan meet. Belmonte scored 11 points, while JD Cagulangan added nine points.
UP will next face Super Basketball League club Changhua BLL on Tuesday.
Wei Xunzhe was the lone double-digit scorer for the TPBLU representatives, finishing with 10 points.
The Scores:
UP 84 – Lopez 14, Stevens 13, Belmonte 11, Cagulangan 9, Felicilda 7, Millora-Brown 6, Torres 6, Walker 6, Udodo 6, Bayla 4, Alarcon 2, Fortea 0.
TPBLU 45 – Wei 10, Li 9, Jiang G. 5, Su 4, Jiang 4, Zhuang 3, Qin 3, Wang 2, Rong 2,Chen 0, Zhang 0.
Quarterscores: 19-12, 40-19, 70-34, 84-45.
