BY MICHAEL JUGADO and ABBY TORALBA
UNIVERSITY of the Philippines turned an expected dogfight against La Salle into a walk in the park last night.
Bolstered by a fast start they sustained all the way, the Fighting Maroons made short work of the Green Archers 97-67 in Game 1 of their best-of-3 finals duel for the 86th UAAP basketball tournament crown at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Six-goot-1 guard Harold Alarcon scattered a game-high 21 points, on top of two rebounds and two assists for UP, while Francis Lopez chipped in a double-double of 15 markers and 11 boards.
JD Cagulangan and Gerry Abadiano also added 11 and 10 points, respectively as the Maroons scored a fitting follow-up to a 57-46 triumph over former champion Ateneo in their Final Four clash five days ago.
More importantly, UP gained the crucial head start in the race-to-2 series and will go for the jugular in the second game set this Sunday, Dec. 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
La Salle failed to do an encore to a 97-63 thrashing of National University in their semifinals battle last Saturday.
A rubber match for all the marbles in these cage wars, if necessary, will be played Wednesday next week, Dec. 6, also at the Big Dome.
Despite his wards moving within a win of reaching the Promised Land for the second time in the last three seasons, Maroons coach Goldwin Monteverde is convinced the Archers are far from done.
“Well, I guess iyong team really na-e- execute nila iyong game plan a while ago and our defense was really great,” Monteverde said. “We just have to sustain and know that the finals will not be one game.
“But it’s a series so we just have to right now know what to work on and be ready for the next game,” he added.
The Katipunan-based quintet took a 53-41 lead at the halfway mark and with Lopez anchoring a key third quarter blast with nine points, UP’s edge ballooned to 77-55 heading into the final stanza.
The Maroons foiled La Salle’s repeated comeback tries and forced the usually on-target Archers to bleed for baskets.
A Terrence Fortea three-pointer gave UP its biggest advantage, only 1:18 to go that pegged the final count.
Michael Phillips carried the fight for La Salle with 19 points, nine caroms, and two dimes.
Prized big man Kevin Quiambao, who will be feted as league MVP before the second match, was held to just 11 markers, six rebounds and three feeds.