UNIVERSITY of the Philippines earned a massive win in its Korea trip, nipping Jeonju KCC Egis, 83-82, on Monday.
It's the first victory for the Fighting Maroons in this excursion with Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, and Malick Diouf all making great strides in the team's buildup ahead of their title retention bid this UAAP Season 85.
Making this victory all the more impressive was that UP pulled it off over a full-strength Jeonju squad bannered by Korean naturalized player Ra Gun-A (Ricardo Ratliffe).
"I’m very satisfied with what I am witnessing," said program director Bo Perasol. "It is not only about the games but also the practices and the experiences that the boys share together here. They are able to practice with coach Gold [Monteverde] with much more focus and attention. They fight it out with the much experienced pro players here, half of which have imports."
UP lost its first four exhibitions against Korean Basketball League (KBL) ballclubs since flying to Korea last week.
Narrow loss
The Fighting Maroons suffered a 104-71 loss to Suwon KT Sonicboom on Wednesday, before dropping their back-to-back games against the Changwon LG Sakers featuring Justin Gutang, 83-80 on Thursday and 99-71 on Friday.
They also tasted a narrow 82-80 defeat to the Seoul SK Knights on Sunday.
UP still has three more games in its schedule, meeting the Seoul Samsung Thunders, Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus which has RJ Abarrientos, and the Seoul SK Knights before flying back home on Sept. 10.