IMMEDIATE impact is what the University of the Philippines got from two of its prized recruits, as Veejay Pre and Arvie Poyos joined forces to carry their side into the UAAP Season 89 win column.
Pre and Poyos combined for all but five points in a pivotal 25-7 push the Fighting Maroons rode past University of Santo Tomas all the way to a 92-85 win on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Growling Tigers were up nine, 55-46, at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter until Poyos subbed in and energized State U alongside Pre to a 71-62 lead with under nine minutes remaining.
UST kept coming a couple more times, but then Rey Remogat took charge with booming triples to put UP on top once and for all in the highly anticipated face-off between finals contenders.
UP and up
Nigerian Francis Nnoruka topped the scoring column for the maroon-and-green with 18 points on top of 12 rebounds, while Remogat contributed 11 markers to go with seven assists, three boards, and two steals.
Poyos was a sparkplug off the bench with eight points and five assists, as Pre did a little bit of everything in his debut as a Diliman dribbler with seven markers, five rebounds, four dimes, and two blocks.
The Fighting Maroons' depth proved to be a key difference in giving them a 45-24 edge in bench points, with the Growling Tigers heavily relying on their starters with Mark Llemit, Amiel Acido, and Collins Akowe combining for 50 points.
Akowe also added 18 rebounds, but the black-and-gold didn't fell short in imposing their height and length, getting outrebounded, 39-45.
The Scores:
UST 92 - Nnoruka 18, Remogat 11, Yniguez 11, Alter 9, Poyos 8, Stevens 8, Maga 8, Pre 7, Payosing 5, Briones 5, Bayla 2, Palanca 0
UP 85 - Llemit 19, Acido 18, Akowe 13, Danting 11, Buenaflor 8, Jumawan 6, Canete 5, Sevilla 5, Porter 0, Crisostomo 0, Alao 0, Manding 0, Esteban 0
Quarters: 24-22, 44-48, 66-72, 92-85
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