FOR the second straight year, there will be a battle of Church and State, as University of Santo Tomas and the University of the Philippines face off in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Final Four.
The Fighting Maroons, just like last year, will be the second seed armed with a twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 3 Growling Tigers.
READ: UST catches fire late vs NU to claim third seed in Final Four
But does the Diliman side really have the upper hand in this duel?
Remember, it was this matchup where Collins Akowe delivered a debut to remember in UST’s 87-67 blowout of UP back in opening weekend on Sept. 21.
The Nigerian center, the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year honors, imposed his will on the defending champions to the tune of 29 points and 17 rebounds to put the entire league on notice.
And with two games left in the eliminations, that 20-point State U loss remains as the biggest winning differential for the season.
Even in their second round matchup, UP still had to get through the eye of the needle just to escape with the 89-88 nail-biter back in Nov. 5 thanks to Harold Alarcon’s late-game heroics.
Yet one could argue that game could have been a lot different, if and only if the black-and-gold did just a bit better from the charity stripe. Don't forget that the Growling Tigers muffed on 24 of their 52 free throws back then.
UP vs. UST history
Of course, the Fighting Maroons' fans would opt to look back on last season’s outcome, where they didn't have to make use of their playoff bonus and disposed of UST in one game.
Espana, though, still fondly remembers Season 82 when their boys overcame a twice-to-win disadvantage and toppled UP, with Renzo Subido’s booming trey booking the former’s ticket to the finals.
Overall that year? The Growling Tigers were undefeated in four games against the Fighting Maroons.
With the two teams having split their meetings so far this season, who has the edge in this UP-UST joust?
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