MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:55 p.m.) — The UP Fighting Maroons notched their eighth win of UAAP Season 85 after a 91-70 drubbing of the Adamson Soaring Falcons at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday.
The Maroons scored in bunches, with four players finishing in double-digit scoring as they pounced on the Falcons, who saw both Vince Magbuhos and Jerom Lastimosa exit the game early due to injuries.
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Malick Diouf paced the defending champions with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and five steals.
In the third quarter, Lastimosa converted on a bucket to get Adamson within a bucket, 49-51, but an 11-0 scoring burst led by Carl Tamayo helped the Fighting Maroons create distance anew with 4:27 left in the third salvo.
Magbuhos exited not long after as Diouf landed on his right knee with 3:33 remaining in the quarter.
Lastimosa, meanwhile, had to be subbed out of the game in the middle of the fourth quarter after a successful layup when he landed on the foot of UP guard JD Cagulangan.
WATCH: Jerom Lastimosa is down on the floor after landing on JD Cagulangan’s foot on a successful layup to put Adamson within 13, 67-80 with 5:32 left on the clock. He is carried to the bench | @StarSportsHub @PhilstarNews #UAAPSeason85 pic.twitter.com/YioKT1stmX
— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) November 2, 2022
At that time, UP held a 13-point lead, 80-67.
Without Magbuhos and Lastimosa, the Maroons poured on the offensive side as they built a lead as big as 22 points, 91-69, with 39.6 left in the game.
Tamayo finished with 18 points, five rebounds and one assist for UP while Zavier Lucero and Terrence Fortea added 14 and 12 markers, respectively.
Lastimosa paced Adamson before he suffered the injury with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cedrick Manzano added 10 markers for the Falcons.
UP improves to 8-1 for the year as they logged their fifth straight victory while Adamson falls to 3-5.
Despite the lopsided win, UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde seeks more from his wards -- especially in the early goings on defense.
"I think ano pa rin, 'yung start namin was not the start na gusto namin to start 'yung game. We need to improve 'yung defense namin. I think they made 45 points noong first half, kung hindi ako nagkakamali. So going towards sa ano, nagpo-progress 'yung season, we need to work on that." said Monteverde.
UP and Adamson face the UE Red Warriors and the UST Growling Tigers, respectively, in their next games on Saturday, November 5, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
UP 91 -- Diouf 20, Tamayo 18, Lucero 14, Fortea 12, Alarcon 9, Cagulangan 8, Galinato 8, Spencer 1, Calimag 1, Gonzales 0, Abadiano 0, Ramos 0.
ADAMSON 70 -- Lastimosa 19, Manzano 10, Sabandal 9, Douanga 8, V. Magbuhos 8, Yerro 7, Hanapi 5, Colonia 3, Barcelona 1, Flowers 0, Jaymalin 0, Torres 0, Barasi 0, Fuentebella 0, W. Magbuhos 0.
Quarters: 28-25, 50-45, 69-57, 91-70.