UP’s strong endgame run staves off Adamson, securing their sixth consecutive Final Four appearance

After a two-week hiatus, University of the Philippines made a triumphant return to the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament with a win against Adamson University, 70-59, Sunday, October 27, 2024, at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.

With this victory, the Diliman-based squad booked their sixth consecutive Final Four ticket, dating back to Season 81 (2018).

A slow start to the game saw the Fighting Maroons trail the Soaring Falcons by seven, 10-3, at the beginning of the first quarter. In spite of this, they were quick to bounce back, scoring 21 points to Adamson’s 11 to lead, 38-31, at the half. The final whistle saw them out-scoring the San Marcelino-based squad to take the win and keep their streak of double-digit winning margins. 

The Falcons were never too far behind, however, sticking close to the Maroons all the way until late in the final frame, where a shot by John Calisay from beyond the arc brought them within sniping range, 58-57, with 3:47 left in the game. 

UP refused to let them get that close again, launching a 12-0 run sparked by a Mark Belmonte and-one off a Gerry Abadiano assist. Abadiano also made his own contribution to this run, draining a triple off a Terrence Fortea assist, followed by a Belmonte floater. 

That decisive run was further punctuated by one-and-done big man Quentin Millora-Brown scoring back-to-back points, including a rare one-handed dunk to bring the lead up to 13, 70-57, with 52.4 seconds remaining.

“It’s always about the next possession, the next game for us, and building from those possessions, from those quarters, from those games,” expressed Assistant Coach Christian Luanzon in the post-game press conference. “This was a clinching semifinal game, so that’s something that we’re going to celebrate tonight, so to speak, but at the same time, again, you know, the goal is the big picture, yung papasok ng Finals.”

JD Cagulangan once more led the Fighting Maroons, earning another Player of the Game dub after putting 17 points, three rebounds, and one assist on the board. This also marked a breakout game for center Gani Stevens, who chipped in 10 points — including 3-of-3 field goals — and four rebounds, despite only having 11:47 minutes of playing time. Fortea followed with nine points, five assists, four rebounds, and a +22 rating. Belmonte also tallied nine points and three assists.

Photo by: Jethro Villafuerte

The Fighting Maroons were short a few weapons in their arsenal, as Harold Alarcon, who has consistently been on top of the score sheets, did not play due to muscle strain.

Despite Stevens’ stellar performance, scoring more points (10) in this singular game than all eight of their previous games combined (4), he believes that there is much room for improvement, stating that he wants to continue on this upward trajectory in future Final Four or championship matches. “I’m just [going to] continue to work hard off the court and I’ll just listen to my coaches and my teammates.”

“One thing that was always on my mind since I got to the UAAP was to have that chance to play and at least make it to the Final Four, and then hopefully play for a championship.” he added. “To be able to finally reach the Final Four, definitely [going to] be excited, but you know, it’s like Coach and [Cagulangan] saying ‘Job’s not done,’ so we’ll continue to our goal, which is the championship.”

Meanwhile, Matthew Montebon was the top-scorer for Adamson, tallying 14 points and five rebounds, yet having six of the team’s 28 turnovers. AJ Fransman followed with 13 points and five rebounds, and Cedrick Manzano added 12 points and six rebounds. 

The UP Fighting Maroons now stand in solo second with a record of 8-1, behind the defending champions DLSU Green Archers, who have a 10-1 record. Both teams are assured of a slot in the Final Four, with UP now playing for a coveted twice-to-beat advantage. 

UP will look to continue this momentum on October 30, 2024, 6:30 P.M., when they face their Katipunan rivals Ateneo de Manila University (3-7) at the same Pasay City venue.

The Adamson Soaring Falcons (3-7), who continue to vie for a spot in the Final Four, will go against the University of the East Red Warriors, who stand in third with a record of 6-3, on the same date at 2:00 P.M.

The Scores:

UP 70 – Cagulangan 17, Stevens 10, Fortea 9, Belmonte 9, Abadiano 7, Torres 4, Millora-Brown 4, Bayla 3, Ududo 3, Lopez 2, Felicilda 2, Alter 0, Torculas 0.

ADU 59 – Montebon 14, Fransman 13, Manzano 12, Yerro 6, Mantua 5, Ojarikre 4, Calisay 3, Ignacio 2, Alexander 0, Anabo 0, Ronzone 0.

Quarters: 17-20, 38-31, 55-48, 70-59.

This UP Fighting Maroons Club post is in partnership with Jiang Nan Hotpot.