UAAP: UP, Gerry Abadiano force do-or-die vs La Salle in Season 88 finals

The University of the Philippines escaped De La Salle University, 66–63, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena to force a do-or-die Game 3 in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball finals.

Gerry Abadiano led the Fighting Maroons’ charge in the fourth quarter, scoring six of UP’s final seven points, while Francis Nnoruka’s split from the free-throw line off a Luis Pablo foul sealed the victory for the Diliman-based squad.

It was a game of cat and mouse, with La Salle holding an early 22–13 lead before UP took a 35–33 advantage at halftime. From there, it was a neck-and-neck affair, as the Green Archers went ahead, 58–55, after a Jacob Cortez free throw off a technical. UP responded with a 4–0 run to grab a 59–58 lead.

Abadiano then sparked UP’s late surge with four straight points before Vhoris Marasigan trimmed the deficit to 63–62. Relying on his clutch poise, Abadiano delivered what proved to be the dagger before Cortez converted another basket to give the green side of the arena—among the 22,412 in attendance—a glimmer of hope.

With momentum seemingly swinging to La Salle, Marasigan drilled a three-pointer that rimmed out, leading to a foul by Luis Pablo on Nnoruka, who calmly closed out the game at the free-throw line.

“We just lived to fight another day. In Coach Gold’s (Monteverde) era, I believe this is our first win sa Game 2 but you in a best-of-three series, when you lose Game 1, obviously the more desperate team has to be the one that’s down 0-1 and I thought tonight we showed that,” said UP assistant coach Christian Luanzon.

Abadiano finished with 17 points, two rebounds, and a steal, while Nnoruka and Remogat added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Cortez tallied 16 points for La Salle, while Luis Pablo contributed 12.

This marked the third time the finals between La Salle and UP have gone to a Game 3, with the Green Archers winning the title in Season 86 and the Fighting Maroons claiming the championship in Season 87.

Scores:

UP 66 – Abadiano 17, Nnoruka 13, Remogat 12, Stevens 8, Bayla 6, Alarcon 5, Felicilda 3, Fortea 2, Yñiguez 0, Alter 0, Belmonte 0, Torres 0.

La Salle 63 – Cortez 13, Pablo 12, Marasigan 8, Phillips 8, Macalalag 7, Abadam 4, Gollena 3, Dungo 3, Amos 2, Baclaan 0, Nwankwo 0, Daep 0.

Quarters: 13-20, 35-33, 49-47, 66-63/

—JKC, GMA Integrated News