By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Negrense Harold Alarcon made valuable contributions as the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons defeated the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 81-71, in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, September 14.
The Negros Occidental’s Silay City native tallied nine points, with seven coming in the first half, to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals as the Fighting Maroons improved to a 2-0 win-loss slate.
JD Cagulangan was the lone double-digit scorer for the Fighting Maroons with 21 points, including five three-point conversions, to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
Leading by as many as 27 points in the third quarter, the Fighting Maroons were stunned by a huge fightback by the Red Warriors to cut the deficit to 65-76, but Cagulangan responded with a triple to increase UP’s lead to 79-65.
The Red Warriors still managed to trim the Fighting Maroons’ lead to 69-79 before Quentin Millora-Brown drained two free throws to make it an 81-69 spread with more than a minute left.
“Every game is a teaching moment for us,” Fighting Maroons assistant coach Christian Luanzon said.
“In the first half, our offense flowed well, and our defense held them to 29 points, but in the second half, we allowed 42 points. Wala ‘yan sa standard namin defensively,” Luanzon said.
“As coach Gold [Monteverde] says, each game should show improvement, not just during the off-season. This game will help us [move] forward as we clean up some things,” he added.
Precious Momowei tallied a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Wello Lingo-Lingo contributed 11 markers as the Red Warriors suffered their second loss in as many games./ASC, WDJ
UP 81 — Cagulangan 21, Belmonte 9, Alarcon 9, Lopez 7, Bayla 7, Ududo 7, Abadiano 6, Fortea 5, Millora-Brown 5, Stevens 2, Briones 2, Torres 1, Walker 0, Alter 0.
UE 71 — Momowei 20, Lingolingo 11, Mulingtapang 9, Maga 9, Abate 6, Wilson 6, Fikes 6, Galang 2, J. Cruz-Dumont 0, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Malaga 0.
Quarterscores: 25-13, 48-29, 69-49, 81-71.