The Blue Eagles of coach Norman Black used a crippling 18-2 run in the second quarter to move one win away from sweeping the first round of the elimination. They will try to do that against Santo Tomas this week.
Despite the rains brought about by Typhoon Henry, a huge crowd representing both teams filled the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Warriors, tipped as the biggest threats to the Blue Eagles’ campaign this year, led 22-20 early in the second. But in the wink of an eye, they trailed, 38-24, never to catch up again.
"The key to beating UE was in breaking their pressure defense. We knew that if we did that we’d have a better chance of winning," said Black, looking more at a sixth win than a sweep.
It was the second loss against three wins for UE, the only other setback dealt by Santo Tomas last week.
Earlier, Far Eastern University finally played like the defending champion, beating UP, 94-86, and barging into the win column after four consecutive defeats.
"Finally, we won. I’m starting to miss being interviewed," said coach Bert Flores before praising Jonas Villanueva and Jeff Chan, the remnants of last year’s champion team who combined for 48 points.
— Abac Cordero
"We really had a bad start this year at 0-4. But strong teams have been there before. It feels really different because we went 7-0 last year," added the FEU coach.
Nestor David and Marvin Cruz, the top players from UP, were benched by coach Joe Lipa in the fourth quarter, and could only watch time slip away as the Maroons fell to 1-3.