by Kurt Lozano
Ed Daquioag led the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers to a roaring 67-59 victory over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in order to remain the last undefeated team in the UAAP Season 78 Sunday, Sept. 13.
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As the last two teams with a 2-0 record coming into the game, the Maroons went into the match confident of victory until a determined Tigers squad stopped them dead in their tracks.
UST started off strong during the second quarter with an early 4 points by Daquioag. UP was prevented from doing the same by a stellar defense from the Tigers led by Sheak Sheriff. The Maroons eventually slipped through to the basket, but the Tigers maintained a dominant lead as the first quarter ended 10-4.
An invigorated UP started clawing back at the Tigers as the second quarter began. Determined offensives led by the Tiger trio of Daquioag, Kevin Ferrer, and Karim Abdul made sure UST retained its lead, but Diego Dario and Andres Desiderio made sure the Maroons were keeping up. The first half ended as UST held an uneasy 21-15 lead.
Both teams began the third quarter by exchanging a flurry of shots, with the first 5 minutes ending with UP nipping at UST’s heels 24-25. A scuffle for a loose ball saw Daquioag momentarily leaving the court to recover, the Maroons immediately took advantage of his absence by taking their first lead of the game 25-27. Mario Bonleon immediately took the lead back for UST with a three-pointer of his own as the Tigers sought to outrun the Maroons. Dario led the chase by sinking three-pointers then drawing fouls and landing the subsequent free throws, ending the closely contested third quarter 42-40 with a marginal lead for UST.
The Tigers opened the final quarter with Daquioag continuing the offensive as Ferrer and Abdul followed closely behind. UP replied with outside shot attempts by Dario, but was unable to stave off UST’s inside attacks with the score at 46-42 by the 7-minute mark. A three-pointer by Daquioag and a dominant display in the paint by Abdul extended UST’s lead to 51-44 at the quarter’s halfway mark. A concerted effort by Dario and Desiderio kept UP in the game, with the score at 53-48 as 3 minutes remained. The last two minutes started with the Maroons almost keeping up with the Tigers 57-54 until Daquioag snowballed out of control. UP tried to defend and score their own, but Dario failed to land the needed three-pointers as the last seconds of the game ticked away with UST leading 64-58. Ferrer extended the lead by splitting free throws and Louie Vigil sealed the deal by landing both, with the Tigers toppling UST 67-59.
Daquioag put on a show as he posted 27 points and 6 rebounds, while only being fouled once. Kevin Ferrer scored 15 with 10 boards, while Karim Abdul proved he is still as solid of a player as ever by squaring off and hustling with UP’s defense multiple times and posting an 8-point record. Dario and Desiderio valiantly led UP by posting 15 and 12 points respectively, but their efforts were in vain.
With their victory over the UP Fighting Maroons, the UST Growling Tigers are now leading the pack with a dominant 3-0 record, their first since 1993. The Tigers now aim to continue their undefeated streak by squaring off with the defending champions NU Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 19, while the Maroons will look to bounce back from their defeat by facing the FEU Tamaraws the next day.
UST started off strong during the second quarter with an early 4 points by Daquioag. UP was prevented from doing the same by a stellar defense from the Tigers led by Sheak Sheriff. The Maroons eventually slipped through to the basket, but the Tigers maintained a dominant lead as the first quarter ended 10-4.
An invigorated UP started clawing back at the Tigers as the second quarter began. Determined offensives led by the Tiger trio of Daquioag, Kevin Ferrer, and Karim Abdul made sure UST retained its lead, but Diego Dario and Andres Desiderio made sure the Maroons were keeping up. The first half ended as UST held an uneasy 21-15 lead.
Both teams began the third quarter by exchanging a flurry of shots, with the first 5 minutes ending with UP nipping at UST’s heels 24-25. A scuffle for a loose ball saw Daquioag momentarily leaving the court to recover, the Maroons immediately took advantage of his absence by taking their first lead of the game 25-27. Mario Bonleon immediately took the lead back for UST with a three-pointer of his own as the Tigers sought to outrun the Maroons. Dario led the chase by sinking three-pointers then drawing fouls and landing the subsequent free throws, ending the closely contested third quarter 42-40 with a marginal lead for UST.
The Tigers opened the final quarter with Daquioag continuing the offensive as Ferrer and Abdul followed closely behind. UP replied with outside shot attempts by Dario, but was unable to stave off UST’s inside attacks with the score at 46-42 by the 7-minute mark. A three-pointer by Daquioag and a dominant display in the paint by Abdul extended UST’s lead to 51-44 at the quarter’s halfway mark. A concerted effort by Dario and Desiderio kept UP in the game, with the score at 53-48 as 3 minutes remained. The last two minutes started with the Maroons almost keeping up with the Tigers 57-54 until Daquioag snowballed out of control. UP tried to defend and score their own, but Dario failed to land the needed three-pointers as the last seconds of the game ticked away with UST leading 64-58. Ferrer extended the lead by splitting free throws and Louie Vigil sealed the deal by landing both, with the Tigers toppling UST 67-59.
Daquioag put on a show as he posted 27 points and 6 rebounds, while only being fouled once. Kevin Ferrer scored 15 with 10 boards, while Karim Abdul proved he is still as solid of a player as ever by squaring off and hustling with UP’s defense multiple times and posting an 8-point record. Dario and Desiderio valiantly led UP by posting 15 and 12 points respectively, but their efforts were in vain.
With their victory over the UP Fighting Maroons, the UST Growling Tigers are now leading the pack with a dominant 3-0 record, their first since 1993. The Tigers now aim to continue their undefeated streak by squaring off with the defending champions NU Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 19, while the Maroons will look to bounce back from their defeat by facing the FEU Tamaraws the next day.