By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons bagged their first-ever FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup championship title after taking down the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 87-76, last June 21, 2023, held at the San Juan Arena.
UP’s win was made sweeter after the former UAAP kings handed the Green Archers their first-ever loss in the collegiate preseason hoops tournament.
The Fighting Maroons were off to a rousing start after going toe-to-toe with DLSU’s high-octane pace led by rookie Mark Belmonte who provided the huge baskets that broke the 22-point deadlock in the first quarter.
Belmonte put up a performance for the ages after draining several momentum-boosting three-pointers in the first quarter that sparked the whole UP squad in the next three frames.
Backstopping Belmonte was another rookie Francis Lopez. The former Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) prospect came off the bench for head coach Goldwyn Monteverde and immediately made an impact when he punished the DLSU interior with his aggressive drives to the basket.
Lopez wowed the crowd and kicked off UP’s insane 23-4 run after converting a high-flying finger roll layup from the free throw line that sucked the life out of the Green Archers.
DLSU kept on punching back and trimmed UP’s 21-point advantage twice to just a single digit but the veteran trio of Malick Diouf, JD Cagulangan, and CJ Cansino stepped up in the clutch to help the Fighting Maroons protect their lead until the final buzzer.
Evan Nelle tried his best to help DLSU keep up with the waxing hot UP when he unloaded 19 big points but only got little help as Mark Nonoy was the only player who also scored in double digits with 13 markers.
It was just an unfortunate day for the Green Archers after missing several wide-open layups that would’ve kept the game closer midway through the second half.
Aside from their point-blank misses, the Green Archers also shot poorly from the three-point area and failed to get defensive stops on the other end.
