UAAP women's hoops: Fighting Maroons crush Lady Warriors to bolster Final Four bid

MANILA, Philippines — The UP Fighting Maroons sparked their run for a spot in the Final Four in the UAAP Season 85 women's basketball tournament with a 35-point rout of the listless UE Lady Warriors, 67-32, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion here in Espana on Sunday.

With a 4-6 record UP find themselves smack in the middle of the standings with four games remaining as they look to barge back into the semifinals after a long drought.

In a much needed win after three straight losses, UP zoomed to an early double digit lead as they clamped down on defense for a 21-9 start in the opening salvo.

By the third salvo, there was no let up for the Diliman squad as they limited UE to just five points in the period to ramp up their lead to 26, 50-24.

UE's woes only compounded in the fourth as Cindi Gonzales sparked one final run for the Fighting Maroons to see their lead balloon to as big as 35 points in the final score.

Roxanne Lara netted a three for the game's final basket with 48.4 left on the clock to give UP its biggest lead of the match.

Despite the rout, UP head coach Paul Ramos isn't getting lost in the team's dominance against the Lady Warriors, rather, he's just content with the victory.

"For me, at this point in our tournament, a win is still a win for us -- whether it's two points or as you have noticed in our previous game, one point lang, natalo kami so, regardless of how many points yung spread, the win is the most important aspect samin right now. We're really trying to make the most of the remaining games." Ramos said.

Former UAAP Rookie of the Year Justine Domingo paced UP in the victory with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, five steals, and a block.

Gonzales, meanwhile, added 12 markers and 13 rebounds in 14 minutes off of the bench.

Kamba Kone and Claire Sajol led UE with eight points apiece as they were sent crashing to 0-10.

The teams get a week-long break before action continues. UP hopes to keep the momentum going when they face the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Sunday, November 13.

UE, meanwhile, will try to pull off a massive upset against six-time defending champions NU also on Sunday.

The Scores

UP (67) -- Domingo 15, Gonzales 12, Bariquit 8, Maw 5, Vingno 5, Larrosa 5, Lozada 4, Pesquera 3, Tapawan 3, Lara 3, Rivera 2, Jimenez 2, Lebico 0, Sanchez 0, Sauz 0
UE (32) -- Kone 8, Sajol 8, Terrinal 7, Nama 2, Tinio 2, Gervacio 2, Caraig 2, Paule 1, Lorena 0, Silva 0, Anastacio 0

Quarter scores: 21-9, 34-19, 50-24, 67-32