When the going got tough for University of the Philippines, Goldwin Monteverde relied on three of his most trusted players to lift the Fighting Maroons.
Janjan Felicilda, Reyland Torres, and Harold Alarcon delivered in the clutch, leading the Fighting Maroons to a 107-99 victory over Bank of Taiwan.
UP completed a sweep of the 2024 Interleague Play on Saturday at Keelung Gymnasium in Taiwan.
For the second time in three games, UP found itself in a tight situation, clinging to an 88-87 lead with four minutes remaining.
An unsportsmanlike foul by the Bank of Taiwan shifted the momentum, resulting in a four-point swing – two free throws from Felicilda, who took the foul, and a bucket from Torres.
Following a crucial defensive stop, Alarcon drained a cold-blooded three-pointer to extend UP’s lead to 95-87.
From there, it was all Fighting Maroons, as they led by 12 points with two minutes remaining, effectively shutting down any comeback attempt from the Super Basketball League club.
Alarcon led UP with 19 points, while Torres contributed 17 points. Felicilda also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
It has been a dominant run for UP in Taiwan as part of their final preparations for the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
They defeated Chinese-Taipei U22 (82-47), CTUSF (74-64), TPBL (84-45), Changhua BLL (85-69), Taiwan Beer (72-65), and Bangkok University (130-54) leading up to this game.
Mark Belmonte also impressed, scoring 18 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out four assists, while Gani Stevens added 11 points and four rebounds.
UP are now gearing up to face their rivals, Ateneo, on Saturday to open the UAAP season at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Wang Taichieh led Bank of Taiwan with 22 points, while Chen Youhsu added 18 points.
The Scores:
UP 107 – Alarcon 19, Belmonte 18, Torres 17, Felicilda 12, Stevens 11, Briones 8, Alter 7, Abadiano 5, Bayla 5, Fortea 3, Ududo 2, Walker 0.
Bank of Taiwan 99 – Wang 22, Chen 18, Chien 13, Chang 13, Kuo 8, Kuo 8, Lin 7, Niang 6, Cao 4, Wang 0.
Quarterscores: 24-29, 55-50, 79-77, 107-99
