MANILA, Philippines – Will it be four straight finals appearances for the UP Fighting Maroons?
Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the second-ranked Fighting Maroons eye a quick entry to the finals when they lock horns with the third-seeded UST Growling Tigers in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, November 30.
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FOURTH QUARTER
- UP 66-61: Kyle Paranda hits the sidestep three. Timeout UP with 5:29 left
- UP 66-58: Harold Alarcon keeps going with another mid-range shot
- UP 64-58: JD Cagulangan putback layup
- UP 62-58: Forthsky Padrigao scores inside
- UP 62-56: Nic Cabañero scores two free throws, 7:22 left
- UP 62-54: Quentin Millora-Brown 1/2 from the line
- UP 61-54: Nic Cabañero hits the fallaway jumper
- UP 61-52: Harold Alarcon hits another mid-ranger
- UP 59-52: Mo Tounkara scores off a Francis Lopez goaltend
- UP 59-50: Harold Alarcon swishes from mid-range
THIRD QUARTER
- END OF THIRD QUARTER: UP rides a 21-4 run to keep UST at bay, 57-50
- UP 57-50: Harold Alarcon hangs and hits for two
- UP 55-50: Gelo Crisostomo hits another mid-range shot, 43 seconds left
- UP 55-48: Mo Tounkara hits the inside shot, misses the bonus
- UP 55-46: Forthsky Padrigao splits his free throws
- UP 55-45: Nic Cabañero 1/2 from the line
- UP 55-44: JD Cagulangan hits his first field goal from mid range, 21-4 run, 2:24 left.
- UP 53-44: Reyland Torres adds three more to the breakaway for the 19-4 run. Timeout UST with 2:55 left
- UP 50-44: Terrence Fortea hits a putback for the 16-4 UP run, 3:42 left
- UP 48-44: Francis Lopez hits a floater
- UP 46-44: Christian Manaytay scores with a eurostep layup
- UP 46-42: Reyland Torres drills his own trey
- UP 43-42: Terrence Fortea seizes the lead back for UP with a three, 5:50 left
- UST 42-40: Mark Llemit scores his first two
- 40-40: Harold Alarcon scores back-to-back twos
- UST 40-36: Francis Lopez scores two from the line
- UST 40-34: Gelo Crisostomo hits another mid-range shot
- UST 38-34: Forthsky Padrigao drills a three
- UST 35-34: Forthsky Padrigao unsportsmanlike foul, Quentin Millora-Brown free-throw
SECOND QUARTER
- HALFTIME: Gelo Crisostomo sinks a last-second mid-range shot as UST breaks a deadlock over UP, 35-33.
- 33-33: Dikachi Ududo sinks the hook shot
- UST 33-31: Gelo Crisostomo scores two inside
- 31-31: Dikachi Ududo puts back for two and the tie
- UST 31-29: Reyland Torres breaks the 10-0 run from the line, 2:01 left.
- UST 31-27: Kyle Paranada corrals his own miss, hits an open jump shot for the 10-0 run, 3:01 left.
- UST 29-27: Gelo Crisostomo puts back Kyle Paranada’s miss for the 8-0 run. Timeout UP with 3:52 left.
- 27-27: Migs Pangilinan drills a trey for the tie, 4:37 left
- UP 27-24: Amiel Acido stops the 9-0 run with a corner three, 5:13 left
- UP 27-21: Mark Belmonte scores inside off a Quentin Millora-Brown pass
- UP 25-21: Francis Lopez scores two more inside
- UP 23-21: Reyland Torres drains a long three for the lead, 6:27 left
- UST 21-20: Quentin Millora-Brown 2/2 from the line
- UST 21-18: Christian Manaytay drills a three, 7:27 left
- 18-18: Francis Lopez responds with a layup
- UST 18-16: Kyle Paranada skies for the layup over Francis Lopez
- 16-16: Christian Manaytay puts back for two
FIRST QUARTER
- END OF FIRST QUARTER: UP keeps a small 16-14 lead over UST in a foul-fest opener
- UP 16-14: Nic Cabañero drives in for two
- UP 16-12: Francis Lopez responds from deep
- UP 13-12: Kyle Paranada fakes and fires from three, 49 seconds left
- UP 13-9: Gani Stevens goes 1/2 from the line
- UP 12-9: Janjan Felicilda zooms in for two
- UP 10-9: Harold Alarcon scores his first two for the lead
- UST 9-8: Gani Stevens gets on the board, splits from the line
- UST 9-7: Kyle Paranada gives UST back the lead from the line, 3:04 left
- 7-7: Mo Tounkara drives through contact for the two, misses the bonus
- UP 7-5: Gelo Crisostomo swishes from mid-range
- UP 7-3: Quentin Millora-Brown scores his first point from the line after corralling his seventh rebound
- UP 6-3: Francis Lopez splits from the line
- UP 5-3: Terrence Fortea pull-up three, 6:04 left
- UST 3-2: Nic Cabañero scores his first two
- UP 2-1: Reyland Torres fastbreak layup
- UST 1-0: Forthsky Padrigao breaks the ice from the line, goes 1/2
STARTERS
- UP STARTERS: JD Cagulangan, Reyland Torres, Gerry Abadiano, Francis Lopez, Quentin Millora-Brown.
- UST STARTERS: Nic Cabañero, Ice Danting, Forthsky Padrigao, Christian Manaytay, Mo Tounkara.
PREVIEW
UP finished the elimination round with an 11-3 slate, just behind the league-leading La Salle Green Archers (12-2), while UST wrapped up the eliminations with an even 7-7 record to clinch its first Final Four berth since 2019.
Although UP swept UST in their first- and second-round encounters by an average winning margin of 10.5 points, expect a whole different game between the Fighting Maroons and the Growling Tigers in this Final Four affair as they are both coming off confidence-boosting two-game winning runs to close out the eliminations.
After dropping to La Salle last November 10, UP redeemed itself following back-to-back victories against the FEU Tamaraws on November 16 and the UE Red Warriors on November 20.
UST, for its part, defeated UE in an all-important clash last November 9, followed by a 26-point whipping of the fourth-placed Adamson Soaring Falcons on November 16 to secure the third spot.
Coming from a career-high 33-point explosion in UP’s final game of the second round versus UE, expect Harold Alarcon to be a marked man in this Final Four duel.
Alarcon was unconscious from the field in that match, knocking down 12 of his 17 attempts, including a 16-point fourth-quarter tear.
Also counted upon to deliver for the Fighting Maroons are graduating guard JD Cagulangan, one-and-done big man Quentin Millora-Brown, and high-flying forward Francis Lopez.
Cagulangan placed third in the Mythical Team behind back-to-back MVP Kevin Quiambao and La Salle do-it-all big man Mike Phillips after averaging 11.7 points, 5 assists, and 1.7 steals for 69.167 statistical points.
For UST, all eyes will be on high-scoring swingman Nic Cabañero as he looks to lead the Growling Tigers to a rubber match.
Like Cagulangan, Cabañero landed in the Mythical Team after posting 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for 61 statistical points.
Foreign student-athlete Mo Tounkara and UST floor general Forthsky Padrigao — who both finished in the top 10 in statistical points — are relied on to backstop Cabañero as the Growling Tigers aim to pull off the same feat five years ago, when they overcame a twice-to-beat disadvantage against UP in the Final Four to enter the finals.
Game time is 3:30 pm. – Rappler.com
