University of the Philippines dethroned Ateneo, 57-46, to punch its third consecutive trip to the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball finals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
Malick Diouf (12 points and 16 boards) and Francis Lopez (12 points and 10 boards) steered the Maroons past the team that denied them in last year's finale and straight to the best-of-three title series.
The Maroons will now face No. 2 seed and twice-to-beat La Salle, which needed only one game to oust No. 3 National University, 97-73, in the other Final Four pairing.
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"Both teams, we really fought hard. The score says it all. Both teams just came prepared especially on the defensive end. Both teams also struggled offensively but we got it going nung third quarter.
"But more than that, they just fought hard and hindi sila bumitaw hanggang dulo," said UP deputy coach Christian Luanzon.
On top of three UAAP men's basketball crowns (1940, 1987, 2022) and four NCAA titles (1925-1927; 1930), the Maroons return to the title series for the fourth time in five years (seven total appearances).
Meanwhile, for the first time in six seasons and under the Baldwin era which began in 2016, Ateneo will miss out on the finals and a podium finish in men's basketball altogether as the fourth-seed entering the Final Four.
"For me, it's a team effort. Everybody was working hard and we prepared well for Ateneo. I'm really happy right now for the win and going to the Finals," an overjoyed Diouf added.
The Katipunan squads were treading thin ice all-game long in a low-scoring contest and moreso ahead of the final frame as UP led by just five.
Lopez and ace guards Gerry Abadiano and Janjan Felicilda's unassailable scoring spree gave the Maroons a nine-point edge with three minutes to spare — an order already too tall for the Blue Eagles to conquer by then as time ticked away on their title retention bid.
The scores:
UP (57) – Diouf 12, Lopez 12, Felicilda 10, Abadiano 9, Torculas 7, Cansino 3, Cagulangan 2, Alarcon 2, Pablo 0, Torres 0, Alter 0, Belmonte 0, Fortea 0.
Ateneo (46) – Koon 10, Ballungay 8, Espinosa 7, Amos 6, Obasa 4, Brown 3, Chiu 3, Credo 3, Quitevis 2, Lazaro 0.
Quarterscores: 7-11, 22-25, 42-37, 57-46.
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