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| (Photo Credit: Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports) |
Final Score: UP Fighting Maroons def. UE Red Warriors 84-71
Notable Players:
Paul Desiderio, UP (28 points, 10 rebounds): Paul Desiderio looked like he was going to play sub-par again at the start of the game. Everything changed when he caught fire in the 3rd quarter, scoring 16 points out of his 28. This was a timely boost as UP got ahead by double digits and never looked back.
Ibrahim Quattara, UP (14 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks): Quattara isn’t a main offensive option unlike other imports. Quattara isn't the main offensive option of UP unlike how other teams use their Foreign Student-Athletes, but his size alone was enough to produce points and rebounds for the Fighting Maroons. UE's lack of size was a factor here.
Jun Manzo, UP (10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal): Don't let the statistics fool you. Jun Manzo delivered, by providing enough scoring, while stablizing the offense of the Fighting Maroons.
Juan Gomez de Liano, UP (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Javier Gomez de Liano , UP (9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal, 1 block): The GDL brothers showed up and provided the needed spark for UP off the bench. It was an all-around effort from the two of them in both offense and defense, and both also ended up outscoring the entire bench of UE.
Clark Derige, UE (21 points 9 rebounds, 3 steals): Derige took charge for his team today as he was the top scorer and top rebounder for the team. To produce that type of numbers in 25 minutes makes it even more impressive. He was also efficient as 4/7 (57%) in both 2 point FGs and 3 point FGs.
Philip Manalang, UE (8 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals): Manalang had his all-around game for UE as he both scored and facilitated for his team. His 7 assists alone was already more than 50% of the team’s assist total. His intense and gritty defense all throughout the game tired him out though to an inefficient shooting night with 2/10 FGs.
Mark Olayon, UE (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals): Olayon also had an all-around game considering that he played in just 20 minutes. He was also the most efficient in team scoring with 63% FG shooting.
Quick Analysis:
- Based on the first half of this game, it looked like UP and UE would be having a tight affair. UE started strong leading by as much as 14 to start the game, but UP fought back to cut it down to four before the end of the half.
- By the start of the 3rd quarter, the spark that UP needed came from their main man himself Paul Desiderio. UP started the 2nd half on a 21-3 run, erasing UE’s 4 point lead and turning it into a double-digit lead. UP scored a total of 26 points in the 3rd, with Desiderio’s 16 points in that quarter outscoring the entire UE team with only 7 points.
- UE's depth (or lack thereof) was exposed in this game once more. UP’s bench was more than enough to beat UE for this game. 34 bench points from UP compared to UE’s only 15 bench points was a huge difference. What's most alarming is how Alvin Pasaol, UE's main man, accounted for 80 percent of the points of UE's bench. UE has to generate enough contributions from their role players to be able to compete at a high level.
- UE's lack of size continues to be exposed. The stats may say different that both UE and UP had similar amount of team rebounds. However, Ibrahim Quattara, who is not manch of a offensive threat compared to other Foreign Student-Athletes, exposed UE’s lack of size once more. Quattara alone grabbed 18 rebounds, and whenever he was inside the paint, other UE bigs would stuggle rebounding and positioning against him.
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