UP only team to beat both Ateneo, La Salle in UAAP 72

University of the Philippines may have a losing record in the UAAP tournament, but it is now the only team this year to have beaten both Ateneo and De La Salle University, the league's perennial powerhouses.

UP's Fighting Maroons outplayed De La Salle U down the stretch to eke out a pulsating 83-78 triumph and keep their semifinal hopes alive in the 72nd UAAP men's basketball tournament Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City. Mark Lopez, Miguel Reyes and Martin Reyes had huge roles in the Fighting Maroons’ third victory in 10 matches while at the same time putting the Green Archers' own Final Four bid in jeopardy. "Mathematically, it is possible for us to reach the Final Four," said UP coach Aboy Castro, whose team tied Adamson U, which earlier posted a 79-50 win over National U, at sixth to seventh spots with similar 3-7 records. The victory was UP’s first against De La Salle since 2005 and a fitting revenge to the Fighting Maroons' 63-73 first round defeat to the Green Archers. The UP squad also produced the tournament's first major upset by shocking defending champion Ateneo, 68-58, last July. "I've been waiting for this, I know this is coming," added Castro after their victory. But Castro and the Maroons are facing an uphill climb in their bid to barge the semis round since their next game will be against host and co-leader Far Eastern U. "FEU of course is a tough team to beat. But who knows, if we play just like today, malay natin baka makasilat," said Castro, noting that his Fighting Maroons played the same way when they handed Ateneo its lone loss in the first round. While UP celebrated like they have won the championship, De La Salle coach Franz Pumaren is very frustrated about how his boys started in the match. "I told the boys that we have to start aggressively," said Pumaren, who was aiming to tie idle University of the East and Santo Tomas for the third to fifth spots in order to have an easier route in reaching the semifinals. Now Pumaren, who absorbed his worst series of losses in the league, with La Salle earning its fourth straight loss, knows that his team is facing what could be a worst finish for the Archers in years. "Now our destiny is not in our hands," said Pumaren, who needs to sweep their remaining four games in order to keep their Final Four chances alive. The Fighting Maroons opened up with an 8-2 lead and even enjoyed a 20-7 spread in the first quarter. But the Archers patiently crawled back in the game with the match having seven deadlocks and six lead changes. "Kahit ako hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ganoon ang start namin," said Pumaren. Joshua Webb’s free throws gave the Archers their last taste of the lead, 69-67, with barely two minutes left in the clock. But Lopez answered back with a trey for a 70-69 UP lead that they protected until the final buzzer sounded. Lopez also had a defensive stop when he forced Hyram Bagatsing to turnover the ball with 5.7 seconds left in the clock. Miguel Reyes finished with a career-high 25 markers scoring the points that kept UP afloat when his high school alma mater rallied back in the third. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV