UNIVERSITY of the Philippines beat University of Santo Tomas, 78-60, on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.
Carl Tamayo tallied 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Fighting Maroons to the bounce-back win and secure a playoff for a twice-to-beat advantage at 11-2.
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Cyril Gonzales made the most of the extended garbage time and finished with 14 points as Malick Diouf had 10 points, 14 boards, six assists, two steals, and one block.
Engaged in a close first half, UP went to work in the third period and jumped to a 52-39 lead and continued to pound on the hapless UST side, staging a 15-2 run to start the final canto to grab a 23-point advantage, 74-51, with 6:13 left to play.
The Fighting Maroons now head to their crucial game against the Blue Eagles on Saturday with a chance to secure the top seed.
"Coach Gold [Monteverde] rarely talks about sa mga pregame yung mga standings because our season has been built on growth ng team and just building every game. But at the same time, realizing yung importance ng larong ito yung twice to beat. Obviously malaking advantage yun so that puts us I guess one step closer," said assistant coach Christian Luanzon.
UST suffered its 11th straight loss to stay at the bottom of the barrel at 1-11.
Nic Cabanero led the Growling Tigers with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Adama Faye got 12 points and 11 boards in the defeat.
The scores:
UP 78 - Tamayo 19, Gonzales 14, Diouf 10, Cagulangan 8, Lucero 6, Abadiano 4, Galinato 4, Spencer 3, Ramos 3, Calimag 3, Alarcon 2, Torculas 2, Lina 0, Eusebio 0, Andrews 0.
UST 60 - Cabanero 14, Faye 12, Calimag 7, Pangilinan 6, Manalang 6, Laure 4, Mantua 4, Manaytay 3, Magdangal 2, Garing 2, Herrera 0, Escobido 0, Gesalem 0.
Quarterscores: 15-16; 37-34; 59-49; 78-60.
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