UP’s Goldwin touch

MANILA, Philippines — It was UP coach Goldwin Monteverde’s time to shine again. The Fighting Maroons are back on the UAAP men’s basketball throne, claiming their second title in the last four seasons under the Man with the Goldwin Touch.

Last Sunday’s Game Three clincher was decided only in the final minute at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. UP bolted to a 54-40 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter but La Salle knotted the count, 58-all, behind an 18-4 salvo, time down to 7:13 in the fourth. JD Cagulangan broke the tie with a triple and both teams were scoreless for 5:19 before Lian Ramiro struck to make it, 61-60 with 1:34 left. Francis Lopez drained a triple to stretch the lead to four, 64-60, then EJ Gollena replied to trim it to 64-62. Quentin Millora-Brown knocked down two free throws, 66-62, to close the count with 44 ticks to go.

Archers coach Topex Robinson’s gameplan was to take away UP’s three-point artillery and it worked in the first half as the Maroons went 0-of-9 from three. The downside was the ploy stretched La Salle’s defense and opened opportunities for UP to dominate inside. In Game Two, UP took 44 percent of its shots from three but in Game Three, it was down to 30 percent as the Maroons upgraded their attempts to a higher percentage. The result was in Game Three, UP outscored La Salle in paint points, 36-26 and had 10 more field goal attempts while grabbing more boards, 43-36 and committing four less turnovers. In Game Two, it was the reverse with La Salle scoring more paint points, 34-24 and hauling more rebounds, 45-37. UP paid back La Salle in spades, reversing its course from outside to inside with Brown and Lopez registering double-doubles.

Down the stretch in Game Three, La Salle tightened the screws inside and forced UP to miss seven of eight shots from two. Then, Monteverde adjusted to bring the ball back out with Cagulangan and Lopez burying dagger threes to seal it. UP finished with only four triples compared to La Salle’s six but two came with the outcome on the line. What killed La Salle’s hopes was its miserable free throw shooting, missing 16 from the line for a 42.9 percent clip.

Next season, UP loses Cagulangan and Brown but the rest will stay including Lopez. The Maroons will bring in UE transferee Rey Remogat, Miguel Yniguez and possibly crack 6-9 Nigerian import Francis Nnoruka to replace Dikachi Udodo. La Salle bids farewell to Kevin Quiambao, Ramiro, Josh David and Isaiah Phillips. Michael Phillips heads the holdover cast. Checking in are Mason Amos, Jacob Cortez, Kean Baclaan, Luis Pablo, Dominic Sarmiento, Russel Ogana, Rhyle Melencio and Justin Buenaventura.