THERE'S something about the Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila that makes the climb even steeper for the University of the Philippines.
The Fighting Maroons finally broke their jinx inside the University of Santo Tomas venue on Saturday, however, dominating the last 16 minutes against erstwhile unbeaten National U for a 66-59 decision.
After four tries, State U got to celebrate on the QPav floor for the first time - and more importantly, evened out its record to 2-2 in its title defense.
And just like in its previous outings here, they had to fight tooth and nail in this one, finding themselves down 34-47 at the six-minute mark of the third quarter.
From there, UP turned on the pressure cooker and handcuffed the Bulldogs to just a solitary field goal and free throw free throw in the next 13 minutes, just as Harold Alarcon got going with seven points in its 24-3 tear for a 58-50 lead.
Francis Nnoruka top-scored for the Fighting Maroons with 14 points and six rebounds, while Gani Stevens chimed in 10 markers and five boards of his own. Alarcon only had eight points to his name, but each and every one of his makes was clutch, as he also added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, all while hounding Steve Nash Enriquez at the other end.
"I just wanna commend Harold. Every time he had the ball, whether he's making a shot or creating plays, he was big-time," said assistant coach Christian Luanzon, harping on how their wing's 20 minutes on the floor were all quality.
UP takes fight out of NU
In the end, the maroon-and-green forced NU into missing 23 of their 29 attempts from the field in the second half, a marked improvement from the 48.3-percent they surrendered in the first two quarters.
UP also welcomed surprise contributions from first-year forward Migs Yniguez who was inserted for nine minutes bridging the third and fourth periods and hit three triples to help that pivotal push.
"I wanna commend Migs din for just staying ready. Played less than 10 minutes, didn't see action in the first half, but he made big shots for us," said Luanzon.
The Bulldogs stumbled for the first time in four games, as top gun Jake Figueroa was muzzled to just nine points and seven rebounds. Enriquez fronted their effort with 16 markers, while Gelo Santiago also added 10 of his own.
The Scores:
UP 66 – Nnoruka 14, Stevens 10, Alarcon 8, Yniguez 8, Remogat 6, Fortea 5, Bayla 4, Torres 4, Belmonte 4, Briones 3, Abadiano 0, Palanca 0.
NU 59 – Enriquez 16, Santiago 10, Figueroa 9, Palacielo 7, Francisco 4, Manansala 4, John 4, Jumamoy 3, Padrones 2, Garcia 0, Parks 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarters: 13-19, 34-40, 48-49, 66-59.
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