Maroons on track for semis bonus, rout Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines -- The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons are nearing a twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament after obliterating the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 75-47, Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

UP ruled this season’s Battle of Katipunan as they swept Ateneo in their season series, while also giving head coach Tab Baldwin his worst loss in the UAAP.

Francis Lopez spearheaded the Fighting Maroons with 20 points, five rebounds and a block.

The two teams were caught in a close game after one, with UP leading by two, 17-15, heading into the second quarter.

The Diliman-based squad then caught fire, unleashing an 8-0 run capped by a putback by Gani Stevens to start the frame, 25-15.

This separation set the tone for the dominant Fighting Maroons, who turned a 39-28 halftime lead to a 54-28 advantage with 15 straight points in the third quarter.

A 3-pointer by Andrew Bongo with less than five minutes to go gave the Blue Eagles their first points of the frame, but it was quickly taken back by Lopez, who dialed in from deep and sank a triple of his own.

Ateneo could not claw back from the hole as the lead grew to 30 points, 75-45, late in the game.

Quentin Millora-Brown had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for UP. Jacob Bayla added eight markers, while Stevens and Reyland Torres had seven apiece.

No Ateneo player scored in double digits. Chris Koon top-scored for the Blue Eagles with nine points, while Shawn Tuano added eight. Jared Bahay, who had a career-best 22 points last game, had six points on 2-of-12 shooting.

UP thus won its third straight game and rose to 9-1 in the season, while Ateneo dropped to 3-8.