After the enemy trips, La Salle and UP divide the space under Atenio and separate.

More than two years after Asia Arena packed the same mall in the final game of a championship series, the stands echoed with glee as fans finally returned to UAAP, though not in a normal drive.

Atenio won that title, with an unbeaten run that is still live. And as the biggest threat to the Eagles’ reign, both parties came out on Tuesday winning legitimacy.

But both are aware that they have a lot of room to cover before they are identified as serious title contestants.

“Winning is a win,” said University of the Philippines (UP) coach Goldwin Montevarde. “But obviously we have a lot to do with our defense.”

The comments came after the Maroons struggled to become the second hottest team in the league বিপর UP won its fourth consecutive victory.

Days later, La Salle uses a strong start and a systematic approach to extinguishing the fire and brings the young hot shots of the University of Santo Thomas (UST) back to Earth with a 75-66 win.

The victory of the eagle

Archery coach Derrick Pumaren was a little more satisfied with his team’s results than Montevard because in context: La Salle was leading to a defeat where he said his team had “just given up.”

The defeat was to Atenio (74-57) and is the only spot in La Salle’s record after five games so far. Defending champions also lost their first game against the Eagles in UP 4-1.

Atenio are leading the pack after his fifth win in a row after dominating National University, 74-64.

The Blue Eagles, who have not lost since October 2018, are now on a 31-game winning streak in their hunt for a fourth consecutive crown.

Angie Cowme posted a triple-double with about 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks and added two steels as she anchored Atenio’s defense. Returning Dave Ildefenso top-scored for the Eagles with 14 points and three assists.

Tied up in second place, UP and La Salle split on Thursday and Montverde knew the performances that were passable against the Falcons would seek against the talented archers.

Zav Lucero, Maodo Diouf and Ricci Rivero hit big shots down the stretch but UP Adamson (1-4) got stuck to get an end-breath fear.

Duff had a hybrid three-point game — he split his charities, got rebounds from his back-end misses, and hurried to the basket for a lay-up – three minutes to give UP a much-needed 68-62 breath to reach the final. . Lucero hit a layup when Rivero made a big triple can as UP extended the lead to seven.

But the Falcons dug a final fight as Ahmed Hanapi made a three and Joshua Yero made it hard to make it 73-71 with 31.4 seconds left.

The Falcons then tightened their defense, taking the ball into the corner where Rivero missed a triple that gave Adamson the final shot of the win.

Reality test

But Jerome Lastimosa, whose offense and playmaking kept the Falcons at bay for most of the game, missed a three-pointer and missed the rim completely as time went on.

“I think in our next match we really need to look at our defense,” said Montevarde. “The way we have shown defensive intensity, we can’t go there on Thursday [against UP]”

After all, La Salle is using a flexible offense to test a harsh reality and come up with a win subject to UST (2-3).

Justin Baltazar and Emman Galman shot the fence-hitting archers in the first half, helping their team take a 17-point lead there before entering the break with a 42-27 cushion.

Joshua Fontanilla, who finished with 20 points, thrashed the Tigers early in the third as the U.S. came in 47-38. But La Salle’s Kurt Lodgera attacks the rim and makes six points to return the lead to 15.

Baltazar led La Salle with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and the Lodgers added 15 points and three steals. Galman is down with 13 points out of 5 out of 10.

Nick Habanero also had 20 points and 10 rebounds for UST, which came into the game with a back-to-back win.

“I think this victory was very important for us,” Pumaren said. In another match, Jairus Torres made eight of his 15 attempts from outside the arc and finished with 26 points as Far Eastern University stopped a three-game slide and defeated University of the East 88-74. INQ

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