THE University of the Philippines' Asia University Basketball League campaign came to an earlier than expected end after the Fighting Maroons fell victim to a second-half comeback by Tsinghua University, 85-81, in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Binjiang Coliseum in Hangzhou, China.
State U was still within striking distance midway through the fourth quarter after Veejay Pre drilled a corner three to tie the game at 74-all.
The Chinese side, however, quickly wrestled back momentum, as He Wonwei and Shi Kui knocked down back-to-back triples to restore a six-point cushion.
Rey Remogat and Pre led the Fighting Maroons' last rally in the dying seconds, but Shi coolly converted from the charity stripe to allow the home team to advance to the semifinals.
Pre finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds on top of three assists and a block, while Remogat topped the scoring column for them with 19 points to go with five assists and four rebounds.
Dieonte Miles added 10 points and eight rebounds, as Chicco Briones chipped in eight markers.
Shi paced Tsinghua with 24 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Yu Haotian and Liu Qingwen chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively.
UP reached the quarterfinals with a 1-1 record in Pool B, opening its campaign with a win over Hakuoh University before bowing to Korea University in its last group-stage assignment.
The Fighting Maroons will now shift their focus to the tournament's closed-door placement games, while Tsinghua marches on to the Final Four.
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