UP Maroons upset FEU Tamaraws, 73-63

MANILA, Philippines (Aug 5, 2011) - University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons needed a second half surge to upset Far Eastern Universiy Tamaraws to snatch a stunning 73-63 triumph in the 74th UAAP men's basketball at the Araneta Coliseum today.

It was an upset only in the sense that the Maroons, consistently the cellar dweller in previous seasons, had an unflattering 0-14 record last year whereas the Tamaraws were the runners-up.

But the Maroons are obviously a differrent team this year. This was Maroons' second win in the UAAP seniors basketball tournament this season.

Sophomore Jet Manuel waxed hot with 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half, to lead the Maroons to its first victory over FEU in almost seven years.

"Jet is just emerging. He just gave us extra firepower," said UP coach Ricky Dandan.

"We caught a big fish today," he added.

Three other UP players finished in double figures with Mike Silungan, Anjelo Montecastro and Ifesnyi Mbah chipping in 16, 14 and 14 points, respectively.

Both teams battled on even terms in the first half, with UP closing the first two quarters slightly ahead at 28-25.

The Maroons started the second half with s 6-2 run in the first three minutes to establish a seven-point lead, 34-27 – a margin that would stretch up to 17 in the fourth quarter.

Cris Tolomia managed to cut the lead down to just seven with 4:34 left in the game, but that was the closest the Tamaraws could get as Manuel, Silungan and Mbah keyed several crucial plays to sustain UP’s lead.

Reigning MVP RR Garcia registered 17 points for the Tamaraws, who entered today’s game with a 12-game winning streak over the Diliman-based cagers.

The last time UP beat FEU was on August 28, 2004.

The Maroons seized their second win against three losses. FEU, meanwhile, suffered their second setback in six games.

The scores:

UP 76 - Manuel 20, Silungan 16, Montecastro 14, Mbah 14, Gamboa 3, Romero 2, Maniego 2, Juruena 2, Gingerich 2, Wong 1, Wierzba 0, Pascual 0, Evangelista 0

FEU 63 - Garcia 17, Ramos 13, Tolomia 12, Bringas 8, Romeo 6, Escoto 2, Knuttel 2, Exciminiano 2, Cruz 1, Sentcheu 0, Pogoy 0, Fabian 0, Foronda 0

Quarters: 12-12, 28-25, 51-42, 76-63 (From philstar.com, Vox Bikol)