The UP Fighting Maroons book their fourth straight final appearance after fending off the challenge of the UST Growling Tigers.
Harold Alarcon caught fire anew for the UP Fighting Maroons as they rode a third quarter surge to beat the UST Growling Tigers, 78-69, in their Final Four contest in UAAP Season 87 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
Alarcon, who was coming off of a 33-point career-high performance in their last game, scored 16 points to tow the Fighting Maroons to their fourth straight finals appearance.
UP surged in one of its patented third quarter runs when the Fighting Maroons went on a scorching 21-4 scoring run to overturn a four-point deficit into an 11-point lead, 55-44, with 2:24 left in the third quarter.
While the Growling Tigers tried to get within striking distance in the fourth--getting within four points, 62-58, after a Forthsky Padrigao layup--Alarcon kept on making his baskets for UP to tame the Tigers.
The road got more difficult at the 3:24 mark of the fourth, when Padrigao was assessed his second unsportsmanlike after an elbow to UP big man Quentin Millora-Brown. He was subsequently thrown out of the game.
JD Cagulangan provided the dagger when he drilled the long two pointer with 1:05 ticks left in the ball game to push the UP lead to eight, 74-68. UP led by as much as 11 points late in the fourth, 72-61, with 3:02 remaining in the ball game.
Alarcon’s scoring was coupled by a big rebounding and defensive game from Millora-Brown who finished with nine points, 19 rebounds, and four blocks. Francis Lopez and Reyland Torres finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Kyle Paranada and Gelo Crisostomo paced UST in the losing effort with 12 points each.