UP draws first blood with rout of La Salle, moves closer to UAAP title

The University of the Philippines is one win away from their second title in three seasons.

The Fighting Maroons drew first blood against De La Salle University in the UAAP Season 86 best-of-three finals on Wednesday, 97-67, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It was almost a neck-and-neck affair in the first half before the Diliman-based squad pulled away and took the lead, 53-41.

But UP cruised in the second half, taking the third quarter, 24-14, and the fourth, 20-12, en route to the win.

Harold Alarcon paced UP with 21 points, while Francis Lopez had 15 points and 11 boards. 

Mike Phillips, meanwhile, led La Salle's rally with 19 points and nine rebounds, while MVP frontrunner Kevin Quiambao had 11 points.

This is the biggest winning margin in a finals game in the Final Four era, with the previous high recorded in 1998 when La Salle won against Far Eastern University in Game 1 of the Season 61 finals, 72-47.

Game 2 of the finals will be played on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Scores:

UP 97 — Alarcon 21, Lopez 15, Cagulangan 11, Abadiano 10, Torculas 9, Diouf 9, Cansino 5, Belmonte 5, Fortea 5, Felicilda 4, Pablo 3, Briones 0, Torres 0, Alter 0, Gagate 0.

DLSU 67 — M. Phillips 19, Quiambao 11, Nelle 8, Austria 6, Nonoy 5, Cortez 4, Gollena 4, Escandor 3, David 2, Policarpio 2, Abadam 2, Manuel 1, B. Phillips 0, Macalalag 0, Nwankwo 0.

Quarterscores: 28-24, 53-41, 77-55, 97-67.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News