Maroons overcome shaky start, clip Falcons to go 5-0

MANILA, Philippines -- UP Fight, indeed.

The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons bucked a slow start to come from behind and drub the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 69-57, in UAAP Season 87 men's basketball action Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Fighting Maroons trailed by as much as 22 points but found their rhythm and range to tally their fifth straight win in the tournament.

Harold Alarcon spearheaded UP with 14 points, while Terrence Fortea added 13. Quentin Millora-Brown had a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Adamson had a blistering start, going up by 17, 26-9, at the end of the first.

The lead grew to 22, 31-9, at the start of the second quarter, but the Fighting Maroons slowly but surely nipped away the lead.

They ended the second quarter with an 18-2 run capped by a pair of freebies by Alarcon to move to within striking distance, 27-33.

The Diliman-based squad finally overtook Adamson in the third quarter, 34-33, after a JD Cagulangan jumper.

The two sides exchanged points, with Fortea and Manu Anabo trading triples in the canto.

However, free throws by Millora-Brown and Dikachi Ududo put the Fighting Maroons at a dominant 51-46 advantage.

This tipped the momentum and the game completely to the side of UP, as their lead grew to as much as 16 points, 63-47. A Joshua Yerro ended the furious run by the Fighting Maroons with a layup at the 5:48 mark of the quarter, the first field goal of Adamson.

A triple by Monty Montebon cut the lead to 10, 57-67, but a floater by Millora-Brown with less than a minute to go shut the door on any comeback attempt.

“Sometimes may mga game na ganon talaga… Napagusapan na we just stick to the game plan, work as a team, look for better shots, at the same time on the other hand, we had to remind each other that defensively, we needed to work for it,” UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde said.

“Sa team, we usually talk about how we respond sa mga challenges, and I believe for this game we responded well,” he added.

Cagulangan finished with nine points for UP, while Francis Lopez added six.

Montebon and Jhon Calisay soared for Adamson with 12 apiece, while Matty Erolon had eight.

The Fighting Maroons rose to 5-0 in the season, while the Soaring Falcons dropped to 3-3.

UP will be facing the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers next Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, while Adamson will take on the University of the East Red Warriors next Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena at 3:30 p.m.