The first Battle of Katipunan of the new UAAP season goes to the way of the UP Fighting Maroons.
The UP Fighting Maroons began their UAAP Season 87 campaign on the right foot, using a third-quarter surge to thwart rivals Ateneo Blue Eagles, 77-61, in the opening game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, September 7.
UP relied on veteran guard JD Cagulangan as the Maroons fought off an attempted comeback from the Blue Eagles in the fourth quarter. The super senior drilled a long two to extend the lead back to 10, 64-54, with 5:04 left in the final period.
Cagulangan’s timely basket foiled Ateneo’s momentum as the Blue Eagles fought back from 18 points down early in the third quarter to get within single digits in the endgame.
The game brought playoff intensity from the get-go, with both teams looking rigid as they got a feel of their rivals for the first time this season.
Offense was hard to come by for either team especially in the first quarter as UP ended up on top by a point, 17-16, after 10 minutes of play.
Both squads also struggled with discipline on defense, compounded with free throw woes as fouls were called left and right which dragged the game into the deep water. At halftime, Ateneo and UP were 23-of-46 combined from the charity stripe.
But the dust seemed to finally have settled after the halftime break, and UP surged into a 10-2 run that gave them the largest lead of the game at 18, 50-32, at the 7:05 mark of the third.
“I felt that we started out tight nung first half. But when we started to move the ball around, nakuha namin yung rhythm that we wanted and slowly, nakuha namin yung confidence namin as a team.” said UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde after the game.
The lead looked insurmountable before Ateneo got into a rhythm of its own in the latter portions of the second half to get within eight, 54-62, midway through the fourth. Veteran forward Joshua Lazaro led the cavalry in the comeback try.
UP hero Cagulangan finished with an all-around game of 17 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, and two steals to tow the Fighting Maroons to a 1-0 start for the year.
Former Blue Eaglet Francis Lopez, who was on the receiving end of jeers from the Ateneo crowd, was a perfect 3-of-3 in field goals and was productive from the free throw line to finish with 14 markers.
Lopez also had six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
One-and-done recruit Quentin Millora-Brown had himself a field day in the paint as he finished with a whopping 17 rebounds to go along with his seven points, two assists, and two blocks.
Former UP commit Jared Bahay topscored in the losing effort for Ateneo with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Lazaro, for his part, chipped in with 11 markers.
Ateneo will seek its first win of the season when the Blue Eagles face the UST Growling Tigers on Wednesday, September 11, at the Araneta Coliseum.
UP, meanwhile, guns for a 2-0 start to the season next weekend, locking horns against the UE Red Warriors on Saturday, September 14, again at the Big Dome.