FOR the first two minutes on Saturday, University of the East was in high spirits welcoming coach Chris Gavina back in the fold after his four-game suspension and even started 3-0.
And then the University of the Philippines happened.
Sean Alter played the game of his life, as the Fighting Maroons stretched their win run to four with a dominant 70-61 rout of the Red Warriors at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
The sophomore big man posted 11 points in that blistering 16-2 first quarter assault to lead State U in wresting control of the game and never looking back.
Alter wound up with a career-best 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, as UP kept its stranglehold of second-place at 8-3.
The UAAP Season 88 defending champions can even take pole position if erstwhile pacesetter National U, currently 8-2, falters against Adamson in the later game. State U owns the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs by virtue of an elimination round sweep.
UP-ward, Maroons go
Francis Nnoruka also stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 boards, four dimes, and four blocks to finish as a plus-35 in a game where coach Goldwin Monteverde had a chance to give significant minutes to lesser-used players like Janjan Felicilda, Josh Coronel, and LA Andres.
The fourth quarter hardly mattered in the contest after the Fighting Maroons erected a 26-point lead, 59-33, that not even the Red Warriors firing 21 in the payoff period could change the outcome.
"The first three quarters, we did well on both ends, but the second half was a different story," said assistant coach Christian Luanzon. "We're gonna take this win, but there's always a lot of learnings, especially in the second half if we could finish much better than that."
Rookie Tope Lagat was a shining light for another gloomy outing for UE, scoring 21 points and three rebounds, while Wello Lingolingo got 11 points, eight boards, two assists, and two steals in the defeat to go down to 0-11 for the season - their 17th straight loss dating back to last year.
Precious Momowei was limited to just four points despite grabbing 12 rebounds for the Red Warriors.
John Abate was out for UE after he got hit on the nose by Momowei during Friday's practice.
The Scores:
UP 70 - Nnoruka 16, Alter 13, Abadiano 10, Fortea 6, Remogat 5, Alarcon 4, Coronel 4, Belmonte 4, Stevens 3, Bayla 3, Palanca 2, Yniguez 0, Briones 0, Andres 0, Torres 0, Felicilda 0.
UE 61 - Lagat 21, Lingolingo 11, Despi 9, Malaga 6, Momowei 4, Distrito 4, Datumalim 3, Cabero 2, Mulingtapang 1, Rosete 0, Robles 0, Jimenez 0.
Quarters: 19-8, 44-25, 60-40, 70-61.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
