UNIVERSITY of the East’s dreams of ending a 15-year Final Four drought remains unfulfilled - for three more days, at the very least.
Fumbling the bag anew, the Red Warriors were denied an outright semifinals spot for the fifth straight game, this time falling to red-hot Harold Alarcon and the University of the Philippines, 77-67, on Wednesday at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Alarcon just could not let UE gain its long -waited breakthrough at State U’s expense, waxing hot with a career-high 33 points on a sizzling 5-of-8 shooting for the No. 2 Fighting Maroons who are now gearing for their own UAAP Season 87 Final Four duel against three-seed University of Santo Tomas.
Alarcon also grabbed five rebounds, as Quentin Millora-Brown also stood tall with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, as UP (11-3) heads to the next round with back-to-back wins and a twice-to-beat advantage.
UE's second round from hell
The story, though, is the Recto squad skidding to its fifth straight defeat, going 1-6 in the second round, as it ended the eliminations with a 6-8 record.
Now, the Red Warriors will have to root hard for Ateneo to beat Adamson on Saturday to avoid a playoff for the fourth spot and secure the No. 4 seed, against whom top seed and defending champion La Salle awaits.
For a time, UE looked like it had turned the page, starting off hot with a 21-17 opener.
But slowly, the mighty Fighting Maroons crawled back, and with the going getting tough, the Diliman side zoomed ahead with a 15-6 blast capped off by a pair of Alarcon dagger jumpers to make it a 74-63 affair in the last 36.8 seconds.
The Red Warriors now have to do some thorough rethinking, that despite assuring themselves of at least a playoff for fourth seed with a 6-8 card, they remain far from the form they want to have heading into the postseason.
While the Soaring Falcons (5-8) are sure to have their hands up in jubilation, the pressure now shifts to their side, as they will have to take care of business against the also-ran Blue Eagles (4-9).
A loss for the San Marcelino side in that game eliminates them and gifts slumping UE the last seat in the semifinals.
Jack Cruz-Dumont led the Red Warriors with 14 points, four assists, four steals, and three rebounds, Precious Momowei produced 11 points and 12 boards, and Rain Maga scored 11 in the loss.
The Scores:
UP 77 – Alarcon 33, Millora-Brown 16, Cagulangan 4, Lopez 4, Abadiano 4, Torres 4, Fortea 4, Briones 3, Ududo 2, Torculas 2, Bayla 1, Felicilda 0, Belmonte 0, Stevens 0.
UE 67 – J. Cruz-Dumont 14, Momowei 11, Maga 11, Abate 8, Fikes 7, Lingolingo 6, Go 4, Galang 3, Wilson 3, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Mulingtapang 0.
Quarters: 15-21, 41-37, 55-52, 77-67.
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