MANILA, Philippines — Host University of the Philippines breezed past winless Far Eastern U, 69-58, to stay unblemished in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Maroons shattered the gates wide open in the second quarter with a 20-7 tear and led by as many as 25 points en route to their fourth straight win in as many games.
Francis Lopez spearheaded the barrage with 13 points on 6-of-9 clip along with four rebounds for the UP squad in serious business and in an early run of routs.
The Maroons, who also drew 11 points and 13 rebounds from Quentin Millora-Brown, previously drubbed Ateneo, 77-61, University of the East, 81-71, and National U, 89-72.
Ten more players finished in double digits for the wards of coach Goldwin Monteverde, a finalist in his first three seasons in the collegiate play after building a dynasty in the Philippine high school scene.
“Well, I guess, first of all, praise God for the win. Second is one thing that coach Gold would always remind the players is yung consistency namin should be applied in all four quarters. Medyo nag-relax kami so that’s something that we’ll definitely look into,” said deputy mentor Christian Luanzon.
Later, University of the East pulled off a shocker with a 75-71 reversal of titleholder La Salle.
John Abate dished out a career game with 20 points highlighted by a 3-of-3 clip from beyond the arc, leading the Warriors to a second straight win following a 0-2 season start.