FilOil: UP snaps winless run at JRU's expense

Sam Marata and Raul Soyud had 17 points each to carry the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons past the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 75-63, on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan, in their first win of the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Tournament.

The two teams are now deadlocked in the standings, carrying identical 1-6 cards. UP will finish their campaign versus Perpetual Help on Friday, while JRU squares off against FEU on the same day.

Soyud played only 22 minutes after being in foul trouble for most of the game, but his timely hits in the first and fourth quarters were enough to lift the Maroons to victory. Julius Wong added 16 points and five boards, while JR Gallarza had eight markers.

Mikee Reyes and Soyud carried UP in the first, before a Kyle Suarez make on transition put the Maroons ahead, 17-12 with two and a half minutes remaining. The tandem of Chris Ball and Soyud on defense worked to contain the JRU offensive on several trips, and the trend continued with Martin Pascual and Gallarza manning the middle for UP.

Back-to-back misses from Paolo Pontejos from deep didn't help the Heavy Bombers' cause, as Salaveria missed a free lay-up to keep the spread at five after the initial ten minutes.

A pair of three's finally gave JRU a one-point advantage with less than three minutes remaining in the second, but Sam Marata responded with his own trey at the other end to give UP back the lead. Two free throws from Mikee Reyes upped the Maroons' lead to four, to end the half with UP on top by four, 36-32.

Phillip Paniamogan opened up the third with a three to cut UP's lead to one, but Soyud was quick to add two more for the Maroons. Julius Wong added one from the line, but Soyud was whistled for his third foul at the other end, prompting UP head coach Ricky Dandan to replace his big man with Gallarza.

Marata looked determined to take over, but JRU kept close thanks to charities. Two more free throws from Rhyle Salavaria cut UP's lead to one with a little over six minutes remaining, but Marata drove to the lane for another make.

A quick triple by Gallarza at the 5:36 mark put the Maroons up by six, prompting JRU to call for time, 46-40. Nonoy Benavides scored on a spin move in JRU's next trip, before trooping to the line for a split. Reyes went coast-to-coast after the inbounds, but Pontejos found Grospe free for a baseline jumper at the other end.

Rookie Andrei Paras announced his entry to the game with a split from the line, but UP's transition defense was not quick enough to stop a pair of Grospe transition lay-ups that tied the game at 49-all.

Marata stopped the bleeding for the Maroons with a trey from the right wing, but Grospe canned two from the stripe to make it a one-point game. Paniamogan missed two free throws with less than two minutes remaining, but he got his own rebound to give JRU a fresh possession.

Pontejos ended up getting fouled by Paras, and the point guard split to tie the game at 52 with a minute and a half remaining. Henry Asilum didn't take long to score after being inserted back into the game, hitting a three to give UP the lead. After a split from Asilum made it a four-point game for the Maroons, the Heavy Bombers had two chances to inch closer, but back-to-back misses from Pontejos and Sanchez kept UP ahead, 56-52, after three.


A Wong fast break lay-up canceled out a Sanchez split at the start of the fourth period. Two straight baskets from Mabulac cut UP's lead to one, but a baseline jumper from Wong kept the Maroons ahead. Mabulac was on a roll, hitting a jumper in the ensuing play, but Soyud was reinserted with 7:52 remaining to contain the JRU big man.

It was a timely adjustment by coach Dandan, as Asilum found Soyud down low for a three-point play. After a Benavides missed three at the other end, Soyud would carve some space for himself in the low block, delivering two more points for a six-point advantage for State U.  

A Marata three made it a nine-point game for UP, forcing JRU to call for time. Back-to-back turnovers from the Heavy Bombers did not lead to another UP basket though, as JRU started to double Soyud down low.  Free throws from Marco Balagtas cut the lead to seven, but UP was lucky to get offensive boards to maintain possession. JRU then found themselves in penalty with over four minutes left in the game, as Soyud added another point from the line.

Pontejos continued to miss his attempts from long-range, as Marata gave UP another point with a split. Soyud's presence left Mabulac forcing an airball, but JRU was whistled from a 24-second shot clock violation anyway. After Mabulac completed a steal on Soyud at the other end, but the Heavy Bombers missed from beyond the arc in two straight occasions.

Another missed three by Paniamogan led to a Wong breakaway lay-up that rung in the last two minute mark, and Wong added another with 1:25 to go to make it a 13-point game.

A scuffle under the UP basket with 49.8 seconds remaining led to splits from the two squads. JRU was awarded possession, but Pontejos would miss another three. Another missed jumper from Pontejos led to a Marata rebound, as the Fighting Maroons claimed their first win of the season.

Pontejos paced the Heavy Bombers with 11 markers, four rebounds and three assists, but the former San Beda Red Lion was a woeful 2-of-11 from downtown, 4-of-15 overall. Erivn Gorospe was the only other JRU player in double-figures with 10 markers in 11 minutes.

UP shot 43 percent from the floor, and held their foes to a 31 percent clip, just 18 percent (4-of-22) from downtown. - CLP/AMD, GMA News


The scores:

UP 75 - Marata 17, Soyud 17, Wong 16, Gallarza 8, Reyes 6, Asilum 6, Lao 2, Suarez 2, Paras 1, Ball 0, Pascual 0, Gingerich 0, Ligad 0

JRU 63 - Pontejos 11, Grospe 10, Mabulac 8, Benavides 8, Dela Paz 6, Balagtas 6, Sanchez 5, Paniamogan 5, Salaveria 2, Munez 2, Abanto 0, Gozum 0 , Diego 0

Quarter scoring: 17-12, 36-32, 56-52, 75-63