UNIVERSITY of the Philippines claimed the top seed for the very first time in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament with a 79-57 blowout of National University at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
Malick Diouf took charge in a beatdown with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with eight rebounds, and four assists as the Maroons ended an impressive prelims campaign at the top of the eight-team field.
READ: Montebon's last-gasp game-winner vs UE rescues Adamson's Final Four hopes
With the Maroons’ win, the top three places are set — UP (12-2) clinching first seed, La Salle (11-3) rising to the second seed, and NU (10-4) dropping to third.
"Talagang pinaghandaan namin ('yung laro na 'to). We knew how tough NU is. We really needed to prepare and at the same time, trying to improve pa rin as a team.
"We played well as a team, we played together. We just have to sustain it (in the Final Four)," said UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
Asserting its dominance just like it did in its masterful Round 1 rout over NU, UP seized control from the opening tip and even led by a mammoth 25-point margin.
Graduating skipper CJ Cansino nailed 11 points in just 10 minutes of play and was of aid to the one-two punch of rookie ace Francis Lopez (13 points) and reigning MVP Malick Diouf (11 points).
In terms of the Final Four picture after the prelims, second-seed La Salle carries the twice-to-beat bonus versus third-seed NU as top-seed UP awaits the fourth-seed playoff winner between Adamson and Ateneo.
The scores:
UP (79) – Lopez 13, Diouf 11, Cansino 11, Felicilda 9, Torculas 7, Cagulangan 6, Gonzales 6, Alarcon 4, Pablo 4, Belmonte 3, Torres 3, Briones 2, Abadiano 0, Fortea 0, Alter 0, Gagate 0.
NU (57) – Figueroa 15, Manansala 10, John 7, Yu 6, Baclaan 3, Lim 3, Yu 3, Malonzo 2, Enriquez 2, Jumamoy 2, Palacielo 2, Gulapa 2, Padrones 0, Parks 0, Galinato 0, Delos Reyes 0.
Quarterscores: 23-13, 42-30, 58-45, 79-57
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