UP Falls in their Second Round Match-up vs. DLSU

The seven-game winning streak of the University of the Philippines was halted by De La Salle University, 80-82, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

State U remains at the top of the standings at 10-2 despite their second loss this season as the Green Archers make it two in a row to tie Adamson University with a 5-6 record and still be in the hunt for a Final Four spot.

UP led by as much as 12 in the third frame, 58-46, but DLSU inched closer to trail by just four, 63-59, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Archers went on a 10-3 burst for a three-point lead, 66-69, before James Spencer made a triple to tie the score at 69 with 5:14 left.

Mike Phillips, Mark Nonoy, Earl Abadam, and Kevin Quiambao converted 10 unanswered points to give La Salle their biggest advantage at 10 with 1:13 left, 79-69.

UP’s JD Cagulangan made an and-one to kickstart their last-ditch rally. Zavier Lucero took advantage of DLSU’s turnovers as he shot a three-pointer with 23.7 seconds remaining, 75-79.

Quiambao he split his free throws as Cagulangan shot a long three from the logo at the other end of the court with 12.5 ticks to go, 78-80.

Quiambao was sent to the line once more and made both freebies as Cagulangan missed his attempt behind the three-point line and Malick Diouf had time to put in a last-second lay-up.

Quiambao scored 13 of his 18 points in the final frame and had nine rebounds, while Nonoy made 13 of his 15 points in the third quarter to complete the Archers’ comeback.

Evan Nelle had nine points and seven assists. Mike Phillips followed with eight points and 14 rebounds.

In the loss, Lucero finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while Carl Tamayo had 14 points and seven rebounds. Spencer contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Diouf had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Fighting Maroons aim to bounce back against University of Santo Tomas in the 11:00AM opening game of the Wednesday quadruple-header at the Mall of Asia Arena while the Green Archers look to avenge their first round loss to National University in the succeeding game at 1PM.

The Scores:

La Salle 82 — Quiambao 18, Nonoy 15, Austria 10, Nelle 9, M. Phillips 8, Abadam 8, B. Phillips 5, Nwankwo 5, Macalalag 4, Estacio 0, Cortez 0.

UP 80 — Lucero 15, Tamayo 14, Spencer 12, Diouf 11, Cagulangan 8, Alarcon 8, Gonzales 4, Galinato 4, Calimag 4, Abadiano 0, Ramos 0.

Quarter Scores: 14-18, 35-41, 59-63, 82-80.