In the third make-or-break matchup with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons dominated the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball overtime, securing the final shot with a 72-69 finale score last May 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The UP Fighting Maroons team and fanatics cry victory over the tensioned championship after struggling to earn the top spot for three decades and six years. At last, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball championship title finally bounces back to Diliman.
Malick Diouf bagged the most valuable player title for the finals sequence, with three steals, nine rebounds, and 17 points. CJ Cansino, garnering 14 points for the finals, clutched to tie the game at 59; Gerry Abadiano stepped up for the finish but ended with a three-point missed attempt, stretching for the overtime.
The buzzer-beater three-pointer shot, executed by Joel Cagulangan, toppled Ateneo de Manila University team’s 69 score with only 0.5 seconds left. Cagulangan secured 13 points for the finals, Rivero scored nine, Alarcon eight, Tamayo six, Spencer three, and zero for Abadiano, Fortea, and Lucero.
“I want to thank the UP community [...] the Lord God for this championship,” Coach Goldwin Monteverde expresses bliss and honor to have coached the Fighting Maroons for this season.
Fans can’t help but reminisce about the last UP win since it was also a four-decade odyssey before the 1986 win, with notable athletes like Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras. With this historic 2022 championship, the almost four-decade victory drought was finally put to an end.
Athletes, students, and fans round up at the College of Human Kinetics baseball field at the UP Diliman campus to celebrate the warmth of the long-awaited UAAP success with a bonfire on May 14.
コメント