Maroons rip Eagles; Bulldogs bounce back

MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines ripped Ateneo, 94-75, to seize the solo lead in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament yesterday before more than 12,000 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Fighting Maroons clipped the Blue Eagles to only 10 points in the third quarter to break away from a slim 46-45 cushion and seal the smashing followup to their 92-85 debut win over Santo Tomas.

Former NCAA Finals MVP James Payosing sizzled with 16 points in only 15 minutes of play as UP, finalist in five straight seasons under Goldwin Monteverde, notched its seventh consecutive win over Ateneo in the Katipunan Derby since 2023.

Earlier, National U (1-1) gave coach Jeff Napa a nice birthday present in the form of a 76-56 drubbing of hapless University of the East (0-2), which absorbed its 22nd straight loss over the last three seasons.

The inspired Bulldogs broke the floodgates wide open, 25-8, to set the tone for the strong bounceback to their tough 87-89 defeat to titleholder La Salle in last week’s opener.

Reinhard Jumamoy led the Bulldogs’ offense with 12 points as the triple towers of Mo Diassana (12-12), Kenshin Padrones (11-7) and PJ Palacielo (9-12) feasted inside the paint.