By: Joaquin Cortez
University of the East handed Far Eastern University-Diliman its first blemish, pulling away in the second half to secure its third win in the UAAP Season 89 16-and-under basketball tournament with an 83-65 victory on Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
FEU-D, which entered the contest unbeaten in its first three games, had a chance to forge a tie with National University atop the standings. Instead, the Baby Tamaraws fell into a tie for second with the Junior Red Warriors at 3-1.
In other games, University of Santo Tomas captured its second straight win after routing the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 90-78.
UP Integrated School pulled off a stunner, a 76-71 victory over Adamson University, 76-71, to enter the win column.
Kurt Mercado paced the Junior Red Warriors with 17 points, including 11 in the second half, along with five rebounds and two assists. Mark Redulfa and Xerone Dizon added 10 points apiece.
“Hindi ko po iniisip ‘yong scoring ko, mas iniisip ko na mag-play kami as a team, pero lalaruin ko pa rin ang laro ko,” Mercado said. “Ang taas rin ng binibigay sa amin na kumpiyansa ni Coach Paolo [Hubalde].”
Holding a slim 43-39 lead at halftime, the Junior Red Warriors seized control in the third quarter, outscoring the Baby Tamaraws, 26-15, to build a commanding 69-54 advantage entering the final period.
FEU-D made one last push, trimming the deficit to 12, 77-65, on Bernard Alsola’s fastbreak layup off a steal with 2:45 remaining.
However, Dizon answered with a timely layup before UE put the finishing touches on the victory, restoring a 15-point cushion with just over a minute left to play.
“FEU has been a great team ever since; even no’ng naglalaro pa ako, I’ve always had this respect with them. Sabi ko sa mga bata, ‘You just play your game and follow the game plan,’” UE head coach Hubalde said.
“Binago lang namin ‘yong strategy [during the second half] doon sa offense nila and luckily, tumama ‘yong scouting namin and grateful ako kasi nag-react nang maayos ang mga bata,” he added.
UE dominated the paint throughout the contest, outscoring FEU-D, 52-26, inside while shooting 26-of-57 from two-point range for a 45.6-percent clip.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
With the victory, the Tiger Cubs improved to 2-2, tying De La Salle-Zobel for second in the standings, while Ateneo remained winless through four games.
UST’s up-tempo attack translated to 30 fastbreak points, more than double Ateneo’s 14. The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, leaned on their bench for 37 points, compared to the Tiger Cubs’ 18.
UST stormed out of the gates, racing to a 19-4 lead in the opening quarter before Ateneo mounted a furious comeback behind baskets from Chris Llavore, Jayden Ylen, and Spencer Saw to trim the deficit to three, 45-42, at halftime.
With UST holding a slim 54-53 lead, the Tiger Cubs unleashed a 12-0 run, punctuated by Miguel Austria’s two-pointer that restored their double-digit cushion at 66-53 midway through the period.
Saw made one last push for Ateneo, knocking down a triple to cut the deficit to five, 75-70, with less than five minutes remaining. UST’s defense held firm down the stretch, allowing the Tiger Cubs to restore a double-digit lead and close out the victory.
“Pinaka-problema sa amin ang defense and as of now, hindi lang defense, marami pa. Halos rookies lahat naglalaro sa amin,” UST head coach Noli Mejos said. “Malambot pa ang depensa namin at ang mga reliever ko, puro bata pa. Pero, bumawi naman.”
UST’s Chris Olango also left the game after just 54 seconds of playing time after sustaining a non-contact knee injury in the second quarter.
Mac Macasarte spearheaded UST’s offense with 23 points, eight rebounds, and six steals, while Austria added 20 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.
For Ateneo, Llavore posted a double-double of 19 points and 19 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end, while Saw contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
UPIS, which had won just two games since Season 87 entering the matchup — both against De La Salle-Zobel last season — improved to 1-2, while Adamson dropped to 1-3.
The Fighting Maroons, who never trailed, came out firing, unleashing a 17-0 run to open the contest before stretching the gap to 28-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Adamson attempted to claw its way back and even outscored UPIS, 42-36, in the second half, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Fighting Maroons completed a wire-to-wire upset victory.
“I think it all boils down to what we’ve been preaching for the past two seasons for our U-16 and U-19 guys, na it’s about us and we just really wanted to focus on our development,” said UPIS head coach King Vergeire. “We want to improve each and every day so eto lang ‘yong naging result ng hard work at sipag namin sa practices.”
Hubert Bautista led the way for UPIS with 21 points and four steals, while Kean Poquiz added 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Zando Lagutiman likewise contributed 15 points, all of which came in the second half.
Dwayne Sepnio was the lone double-digit scorer for Adamson with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists, followed by Kobe Edrada with nine points and two steals.
The Scores:
First Game:
UE 83 – Mercado 17, Redulfa 10, Dizon 10, Mercado 9, Roxas 9, Aguilar 8, Ancheta 7, Mallabo 5, Delos Santos 3, Sena 3, Velayo 2.
FEU-D 65 – Barlan 16, Alsola 11, Mampao 11, Calma 9, Cruz 9, Samonte 6, Isip 3, Madrigal 0, Ira 0, Salazar 0, Garcia 0, Castro 0, Maghinay 0.
Quarterscores: 20-21, 43-39, 69-54, 83-65.
Second Game:
UST 90 – Macasarte 23, Austria 20, Umbaña 11, Anggot 10, Eusebio 8, Abototo 4, Retaga 4, Samaniego 4, Cabañero 2, Collado 2, Cuello 2, Bathan 0,, Dueñas 0, Susan 0, Olango 0.
Ateneo 78 – Llavore 19, Saw 14, Gandionco 10, Ylen 8, Nuque-Bautista 8, Molina 7, Fresnido 5, Dela Cruz 4, Mabigat 3, Shi, 0, Dolera 0, Manlutac 0, Beley 0.
Quarterscores: 24-18, 45-42, 71-65, 90-78.
Third Game:
UPIS 76 – Bautista 21, Poquiz 15, Lugatiman 15, Labao 11, David 10, Santos 2, Floirendo 2, Sebastian 0, Romey 0.
AdU 69 – Sepnio 10, Edrada 10, Chan 8, Caintic 8, Timtiman 8, Espiritu 7, Bulan 7, Gayatin 4, Santos Jr. 4, Cads 4, Maycong 0, Thompson 0.
Quarterscores: 28-5, 40-27, 64-45, 76-69.
