UAAP: UP vs UST round two preview and live-scoring

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The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers (6-5) try to keep their bid for a Final Four berth alive and earn a third straight win when they go up against the winless University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (0-11), Saturday at the MOA Arena.

Round one encounter

The UST Growling Tigers showed off their depth, throwing out 13 different players against the Maroons when they first played last July 24. As a result, State U managed to stick close to their foes, trailing by just five, 70-65, with 2:18 left in the game.

However, the Tigers went to their veterans down the stretch, reeling off a 9-1 run that had them up 79-66 with 14 seconds left. Joseph Marata got off a late triple to eat slightly into the final margin, but the result was a convincing UST win, 79-69.

What's at stake

UST is currently tied with the Ateneo Blue Eagles for the last Final Four berth at 6-5. To make sure they book a postseason slot, they'll need to sweep their remaining games, including versus Ateneo on the last day of the elimination round, with a sibling grudge match in-between, against DLSU.

UP on the other hand is still searching for a win this season, but they can play spoiler, or at least make life difficult for their remaining opponents. UST, FEU and UE are all battling to play beyond the elimination round.

UST player to watch

Aljon Mariano started the season slow, but came up clutch in his side's double-overtime 79-78 win versus the FEU Tamaraws last Sunday. The forward showed off his versatility with 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, but more importantly, he also nailed some huge baskets, most notably a pair of game-tying makes in the fourth and in the second overtime.

His combination of height, range and speed will definitely give the UP defenders headaches, especially considering how he chipped in 18 points in round one.

UP player to watch

The fight in the Fighting Maroons the past few games has come from big man Raul Soyud, as the veteran big man has consistently been putting together double-doubles. In their last three outings, he's normed 15 points, 14 rebounds and 2.67 blocks, but he'll need to exert effort on both ends, matched-up against Tigers center Karim Abdul.