REDEMPTION is near for University of the Philippines after the Maroons dealt La Salle a deflating 97-67 defeat on Wednesday in Game One of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball finals at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Harold Alarcon scored 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting to set the tone for the most lopsided Game One victory since the start of the Final Four era in 1993 - and move the Maroons on the cusp of their second championship in three years.
READ: Kevin Quiambao is UAAP's first local MVP in eight years
The ultra-sharp Maroons now go into Sunday's Game Two looking to duplicate the finals sweep pulled off by UP's first-ever league champion in 1986 - a team coached by Joe Lipa and led by Benjie Paras and Ronnie Magsanoc.
The way Game One played out, the Maroons looked headed there.
"You know, our mindset is it’s just another game. We were just happy that we got the win. We really fought hard for this one, you know, we’ve been practicing for so long and we’re glad that we got the outcome that we want.
"Like I said before, our mission is to get two wins. Now, we got the first win and we got one more win we need," Lopez said.
The match’s high-octane start lived up to the billing of a star-studded title showdown the series was pegged to be — only to fall flat by the second half as UP’s 12-point edge doubled in the third and nearly tripled by the end of it.
Lopez & Co. never took their feet off the gas as 17,129 fans in attendance bore witness to a stunning Finals shutout powered by UP's 41% field goal shooting and its notable cutting edge — 24 points off turnovers (versus La Salle's two).
Nine straight wins for the Taft side was ripped to pieces rather unceremoniously, with newly-minted MVP Kevin Quiambao (11 points) and Evan Nelle (eight points) clamped down by the Maroons' defensive masterclass that led to 55 boards, 12 steals and 18 La Salle turnovers — more than double UP's eight errors.
The scores:
UP (97) — Alarcon 21, Lopez 15, Cagulangan 11, Abadiano 10, Torculas 9, Diouf 9, Cansino 5, Belmonte 5, Fortea 5, Felicilda 4, Pablo 3, Briones 0, Torres 0, Alter 0, Gagate 0.
DLSU (67) — M. Phillips 19, Quiambao 11, Nelle 8, Austria 6, Nonoy 5, Cortez 4, Gollena 4, Escandor 3, David 2, Policarpio 2, Abadam 2, Manuel 1, B. Phillips 0, Macalalag 0, Nwankwo 0.
Quarterscores: 28-24, 53-41, 77-55, 97-67
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