NOW, the University of the Philippines can certainly say it owns Katipunan.
Victorious once again in the highly-anticipated Battle of Katipunan, State U humiliated Ateneo by 28 points, 75-47, on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena to complete a UAAP Season 87 sweep of its modern-day rivals.
Francis Lopez presided over the rout, uncorking 20 points on an efficient 7-of-9 clip off the bench, to go with five rebounds, as the Fighting Maroons dealt the Blue Eagles their biggest losing margin in coach Tab Baldwin’s seven-year tenure.
He uncorked nine in the third, as UP staged a 15-0 charge to take a 54-28 lead and kept Ateneo scoreless until the 4:28 mark of the period.
By then, the result was a foregone conclusion, even as Jacob Bayla’s drive with 1:11 to play brought the game to its biggest spread at 30, 75-45.
Quentin Millora-Brown, without anyone to challenge his might down low, delivered a routine double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as the Fighting Maroons, as expected, won the battle of the boards, 51 to 42.
Another statement sent from UP
It was also only the third time in the Final Four era that UP swept the elimination matchup against its neighbors, but more than anything, it was a show of force for the maroon-and-green, which improved to a 9-1 slate after this third straight win.
No one for the Blue Eagles reached double-figures in scoring, with Chris Koon topping the list with nine.
This, however, muddled the postseason chances of Baldwin and his wards, as they fell to back-to-back losses to drop to 3-8.
The Scores:
UP 75 – Lopez 20, Millora-Brown 11, Bayla 8, Stevens 7, Torres 7, Abadiano 6, Fortea 5, Belmonte 5, Alarcon 4, Cagulangan 2, Felicilda 0, Briones 0, Torculas 0, Ududo 0, Alter 0, Walker 0.
ATENEO 47 – Koon 9, Tuano 8, Bongo 7, Bahay 6, Porter 4, Balogun 4, Espina 3, Lazaro 2, Espinosa 2, Dela Cruz 2, Quitevis 0, Reyes 0, Gamber 0, Asoro 0, Edu 0.
Quarters: 17-15, 39-28, 66-40, 75-47.
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