Another game, another come-from-behind win for UP; UE ends 15-game slide

UP Fighting Maroons’ Carl Tamayo. –UAAP PHOTO

The University of the Philippines (UP) has developed a nasty habit of falling behind early in games. And Fighting Maroons wants to fix that as soon as possible.

For the second game in a row, UP had to frantically chase its foe, coming from behind to knock Adamson out in extra time, 87-78, on Wednesday during the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at PhilSports Arena. .

“We got off to a bad start, just like the last game. I guess play catches up or not, what’s important is what we get out of it,’ said UP head coach Goldwyn Monteverde.

Zavier Lucero and winger Cyril Gonzales were major contributors in climbing out of the 16-point hole while Terrence Fortea, Harold Alarcon and Carl Tamayo assisted as the Maroons finally took the driver’s seat in the waning minutes. .

Now two wins in a season where they are the defending champions for the first time in three and a half decades, the Maroons shift their focus to jumping out of the gate.

“We don’t want to start off as slow as possible. What we want to achieve is to start strong and maintain it until the end. “We have to figure it out as the season goes on,” Monteverde said.

Meanwhile, Oriental University (UE) has finally figured everything out.

And the Warriors had celebrated like Kings in a previous match.

Love the champion

UE returned to Far Eastern U, 76-66, ending a long disappointing run of 15 consecutive games since the past two seasons.

“We celebrated after the game as if we had won the championship. We have reached the bottom; there’s no way to go up but to go up,” said UE coach Jack Santiago.

Playmaker Kyle Paranada was responsible for instilling optimism in the UE camp as he made his way to town by shooting five triples and finishing 25 points for the Warriors.

“This is our first win in two seasons. The past is the past and you can’t do anything about it. You just need to think about the future. The win will provide the momentum we need in the next match,” Paranada said.

Patrick Sleat had 15 points and Cholo Anonuevo added 10 for the undefeated Tamaraws, who fought back from 20 points down in the third inning only to squander their efforts in the end to receive a second consecutive defeat.

The Maroons also blew a chance to end it in regulation when they fouled a three-pointer JM Sabandal.

Sabandal, with just a tenth of a second left on the clock, sank three of his free throws, starting the first overtime game of the season.

Jerom Lastimosa burst onto the scene with a career-high 25 points, but was largely eclipsed during the crucial period leading to the Falcons’ disappointment, which lost 0-2 (win-lose).

“We focused on defending Lastimosa. We knew they were going to come to him in the last game,” Monteverde said.

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