By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons leaned on a clutch fourth-quarter burst to dispose the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 83-73, in the ongoing UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament on October 13, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
It was a tight ball game after the first three quarters as the Growling Tigers took a slim four-point advantage, 65-61, heading into the final frame of the clash.
Just when UST thought they could just bank on their paint-scoring efficiency, the mighty Fighting Maroons rewrote the script in the fourth quarter and hosted a momentum-shifting 16-2 scoring run that sucked the life out of the Growling Tigers.
After the 16-2 avalanche, the Fighting Maroons returned to the driver’s seat and got ahead by double digits, 77-67, with four minutes still remaining in the game.
Unfortunately for UST, the superb duo of foreign student-athlete Mo Tounkara and Nic Cabañero went cold when the Growling Tigers needed their scoring the most.
UST only added seven more points in the most crucial stretch of the game and could only watch the Fighting Maroons torch them with their efficient offensive sets.
The quartet of JD Cagulangan, Terrence Fortea, Mark Belmonte, and Quentin Millora-Brown joined hands in spearheading UP’s 16-2 run while Reyland Torres and Francis Lopez widened the gap with aggressive drives.
Leading UP’s massive win was Lopez as he capped off his dominant performance with a team-high 20-point outing alongside seven rebounds.
Fortea picked up where he left off after a waxing hot first-round elimination performance and added 16 markers. Harold Alarcon then delivered 11 points.
Cagulangan, who missed UP’s last two games due to a slight fever, returned to action in the second round and chipped in nine points and four dimes.
On the other hand, UST received a dominant game from Tounkara who scored 24 markers but his team slowed down in the second half and failed to regain their footing in the game.
