THE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons snatched the top seed in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament Final Four after the team trounced the National University Bulldogs, 79-57, on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
UP finished the round with a 12-2 record and a four-game winning streak with an average winning margin of 17.75 points. Last season’s runner-up will await the winner of the Ateneo-Adamson playoff which will be on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
“We’re looking forward to the Final Four. It’s the same. We don’t have a preference if it’s Ateneo or Adamson. We don’t compare,” said third-year Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
The Fighting Maroons got off to a sizzling start as Francis Lopez, Malick Diouf and JD Cagulangan linked up for a 10-0 start in the first quarter. UP was in control of the whole game, only allowing NU to come within 32-26 after a Jake Figueroa free throw at the 3:56 mark of the second quarter.
Holding a 13-point cushion by the end of the third frame, CJ Cansino, Lopez, Felicilda, Chicco Briones and Mark Belmonte pushed NU further down and erected its biggest lead of the game at 77-52 with 4:05 left in the game.
Lopez led UP with 13 points while Diouf had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Cansino chipped in 11 points behind 5-of-6 shooting from the field for the Fighting Maroons.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to third place with a 10-4 record behind back-to-back losses. The team will try to make it to the finals for the first time since Season 77 by overcoming the Green Archers, who finished as the second seed and have a twice-to-beat advantage.
