UAAP: UP shows champion pedigree, ousts UST in Final Four battle

University of the Philippines overcame University of Santo Tomas, 82-81, in the UAAP Season 88 Final Four to make it five finals trips in a row on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Swingman Harold Alarcon paced the Fighting Maroons in their win against UST with 22 points, as twice-to-beat UP advanced as this year’s second seed.

Despite only having eight points the whole game, UP guard Terrence Fortea converted a crucial triple with a minute remaining in the game to turn the tide in favor of the defending champions.

“Masaya, pero, props pa rin talaga sa buong team. Yung pa rin talaga yung nagpanalo, hindi naman yung three points ko. Yung bawat isa sa amin, nagtrabaho talaga para makuha yung panalo,” Fortea said.

(Happy, but props to the whole team. The team performance is what won the game, not my three points. Every one of us worked to get this win.)

Heading into the final minutes of the last canto, UST’s Forthsky Padrigao attempted to keep his team’s season alive, giving them a slender two-point advantage, 81-79.

Urgent yet calm under pressure, UP came down to their side of the court and saw Fortea wide open from three. Trying to avoid a grudge match on Saturday, Fortea drilled in the bucket to give the lead back to the Fighting Maroons, 82-81.

The UP guard’s final three proved to be the last bucket of the game as a strong defensive stance at UST’s last ditch offensive efforts gave Goldwin Monteverde’s players the win.

“I’m very proud of yung team. Syempre, a team like UST, we really respect yung program nila. We knew that coming into this game, hindi naman siya magiging madali for us. But then seeing sina Terrence, Harold, and the whole team responding, it makes me proud as a coach,” confessed Monteverde.

(I'm very proud of the team. Of course, a team like UST, we really respect their program. We knew that coming into this game, it's not going to be easy for us. But then seeing Terrence, Harold, and the whole team responding, it makes me proud as a coach.)

Big man Francis Nnoruka also continued his stellar form, notching 19 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.

Meanwhile, the season ends for this year’s hosts UST. In his best efforts to extend the series, graduating forward Nic Cabañero churned out 24 points to lead the Growling Tigers in scoring.

UP now awaits either a rematch of last year’s finals against La Salle or a new challenger in National University.

The scores:

UP 82 - Alarcon 22, Nnoruka 19, Remogat 9, Abadiano 8, Fortea 8, Torres 5, Stevens 5, Alter 4, Yniguez 2, Bayla 0, Belmonte 0, Felicilda 0.

UST 81 - Cabanero 24, Crisostomo 15, Akowe 11, Paranada 10, Llemit 6, Padrigao 6, Acido 4, Buenaflor 4, Estacio 1, Laure 0.

Quarters: 19-11, 43-36, 65-62, 82-81.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News