MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons returned to winning form in the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament, while Adamson University’s Soaring Falcons claimed a hard-fought victory over the University of the East in the men’s competition on Sunday, October 11.
UP edged De La Salle University, 63-58, to secure its second win of the season, while Adamson recovered from a major third-quarter slump to defeat UE, 71-64, extending the Red Warriors’ losing streak to 26 games.
UP holds off La Salle comeback
The Fighting Maroons improved their record to 2-2 under new head coach Eric Altamirano, bouncing back from consecutive losses to Far Eastern University in overtime and Adamson. La Salle, meanwhile, dropped to 1-3.
After a competitive opening period, UP gained control in the second quarter with an 11-2 run capped by Camille Nolasco’s floater, giving the team a 29-18 advantage.
The Lady Archers responded in the third quarter with a 9-2 run, highlighted by Zyla Lubrico’s three-pointer, to close the gap to 48-46. However, Kaye Pesquera buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to restore UP’s five-point cushion at 51-46 heading into the final period.
Nolasco then knocked down back-to-back three-pointers in the fourth quarter, pushing the Fighting Maroons ahead by 10 points at 63-53.
Although UP struggled to score for nearly seven minutes late in the game, its defense prevented La Salle from completing the comeback and secured the victory.
Altamirano praised his players’ defensive effort despite their offensive difficulties in the closing minutes.
“We started out strong. I thought the girls really played good defense pero ‘nung fourth quarter, it was a struggle for us to score. But I always remind them, ‘even if we struggle, make sure our defense would not be compromised,’” Altamirano said.
“True enough, we were able to pull this through. La Salle is a tough team, and what I liked about the girls kanina was that they played cohesively as a team.”
Ozar led UP with 20 points, three rebounds and four steals, scoring 16 points in the first half. Nolasco added 16 points, shooting four of six from beyond the arc, while Blessing Francis recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
For La Salle, Bukko Ojo posted 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Kyla Go contributed 12 points and three steals.
The Lady Archers also suffered a setback when Go injured her left ankle with 4:54 remaining after stepping on Francis’ foot during a drive to the basket. She did not return to the game.
Nolasco said the team entered the matchup determined to respond after dropping its previous two games.
“Coming into this game, ni-remind lang po kami ni Coach Eric na this game is going to test our character, especially coming from two straight losses,” she said. “Every game nire-remind lang kami ni coach na ‘it’s not about who we play, it’s about how we play.’”
UP will look to build on its victory against UE on Saturday, October 17, at 10 a.m. at the Quadricentennial Pavilion. La Salle will face Adamson on Sunday, October 18, at noon at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Adamson survives UE rally
In the men’s division, Adamson overcame a difficult third quarter to secure a 71-64 win over UE and improve its record to 3-2.
The Soaring Falcons started aggressively, scoring 54 points in the first half despite averaging just 68.75 points per game across their first four outings. Matt Erolon, Ray Allen Torres and Mathew Montebon all reached double figures during the opening half.
Adamson’s momentum disappeared in the third quarter, however, as the Falcons managed only three points. UE took advantage of the offensive collapse, erasing a deficit that had reached 22 points and cutting the margin to 57-49 before the final period.
The Falcons regained their composure early in the fourth, scoring six points in the opening minute and eight seconds to rebuild a 63-49 lead.
UE continued to fight and reduced the deficit to seven points, but Adamson held its ground to earn its third victory of the campaign.
Head coach Nash Racela said UE’s improved performances in recent games made the Red Warriors’ second-half surge unsurprising.
“We weren’t really surprised with how UE played in the second half because I always remind my players that UE is also due for a win. They’ve been playing a lot better the last three games… So I’m really challenging our players to do a lot better,” Racela said.
Racela was also critical of his team’s performance in the third quarter, saying the players needed to show greater intensity.
“I think we played really, really soft in the third… Wala umatras na lang ako. I didn’t coach them in the fourth quarter. Alam naman nila ‘yung dapat gawin and they responded positively,” he added.
Torres led Adamson with 17 points, three rebounds and three assists. Nigerian big man Precious Jonah delivered 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one block.
Erolon finished with 12 points, all scored in the first half, while Earl Medina added 11 points on perfect three-of-three shooting from three-point range.
Despite UE’s defeat, sophomore Tope Lagat delivered an impressive performance with 22 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block.
The loss marked the Red Warriors’ 26th consecutive defeat, dating back to Season 87 in 2024. Another loss would tie the second-longest losing streak in UAAP men’s basketball history, matching the 27-game skid recorded by UP from Seasons 75 to 77 between 2012 and 2014.
UE will conclude its first-round campaign against UP on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Adamson, meanwhile, faces a challenging finish to the first round, with matchups against teams that reached the finals in the past three seasons. The Falcons will meet UP on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum before taking on the De La Salle Green Archers the following Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym.