The UP Fighting Maroons arrest a two-game slide and end the FEU Tamaraws' UAAP Season 87 campaign in the process.
The UP Fighting Maroons got back on the winning track as they staved off the FEU Tamaraws, 86-78, to regain some momentum in UAAP Season 87 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Saturday.
UP, who had led by 16 points, 62-46, in the third quarter, had to fight off an FEU comeback as the Tamaraws were within three, 81-78, with less than a minute left in the ball game.
But JD Cagulangan saved the best for last, by drilling the dagger three pointer with 27.6 ticks left in the ball game to push UP’s lead to six, 84-78. He was 3-of-14 from the field before that shot.
He also made the insurance free throws to arrive at the final score with 12.7 remaining, scoring nine of UP’s last 11 points in the final 2:47 minutes of the game.
The Diliman team scraped by in the nip-and-tuck affair thanks to Cagulangan’s late game heroics and Gerry Abadiano’s timely breakout game.
Cagulangan finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. He was also a +10 in efficiency. Abadiano, for his part, top scored with 19 markers, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
Sean Torculas also chipped in with 11 points, six boards, two assists, and one block.
The Fighting Maroons improved to 10-3 with one game of eliminations left.
Meanwhile, FEU relied on a nine-man rotation in their final game of the season which ended their Season 87 campaign at 5-9. They are officially out of the Final Four race.
Though falling short of the semifinals, the Tamaraws gave the Fighting Maroons a run for their money with four of their five starters breaching double-digit scoring.
Jorick Bautista led the team with 16 points while Janrey Pasaol and Veejay Pre had 15 markers each.
Mo Konateh finished with a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds.