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.
Please refresh this page for live updates.
SECOND QUARTER
- 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
- UST 18-18: Francis Lopez responds with a layup
- UST 18-16: Kyle Paranada skies for the layup over Francis Lopez
- UST 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
- UP 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.
UAAP FINAL FOUR | WATCH:
— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) November 30, 2024
Crowds cheer for JD Cagulangan and Nic Cabañero, members of the #UAAPSeason87 Mythical Five. pic.twitter.com/2giLzgeTlR
UAAP FINAL FOUR | WATCH:
— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) November 30, 2024
It’s a tension-filled atmosphere here inside the Smart-Araneta Coliseum as twice-to-beat UP faces UST in the first match of the playoff doubleheader! #UAAPSeason87 pic.twitter.com/Bo1MJEpvNz
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