(Photo Credit: Marie Dobuyan, Tiebreaker Times) UP Fighting Maroons def. FEU Tamaraws 59-56 Notable Players: Paul Desiderio, UP (15 points, 5 rebounds): Paul is reminding us that "shooters shoot". Keep shooting, Paul. Ibrahim Ouattara, UP (10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks): Ouattara was huge for the Fighting Maroons, thoroughly outplaying Prince Orizu in this match-up of theirs.  Jasper Parker, FEU (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists): If not for Desiderio's game winner, we'd be talking about Jasper Parker and how he's starting to get a hang of the UAAP game. Not bad, rook. Arvin Tolentino, FEU (12 points, 6 rebounds): When Arvin gets going, we out of here. Now if only Arvin could replicate that third quarter more consistently.... Quick Analysis: - Man what a defensive slug fest! Both teams played some terrific defense on each other, and the percentages weren't pretty at all (30 percent FG% for both). At the end of the day, all it took w...

(Photo Credit: Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports) Last Sunday morning, my brother told me how excited he was to see UE and UP play against each other. ‘Magandang match-up yang Desiderio at Pasaol,’ he said. Being a UP graduate, I should have responded with some words to show support to my alma mater, right? But for some reason, I  didn't. I can't. I unintentionally spoiled the moment when I replied, ‘ UE mananalo dyan’ . It turned out I was right. UE led the scoreboard almost the entire game. Whenever UP tried to make a comeback, Pasaol and his crew found ways to shut the door for the Maroons. Pasaol torched UP with his all-around performance (32 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks). Meanwhile, Desiderio had a terrible shooting day with only 8 points across his name (3/18 FG, 0/8 3PT) With the win, the Red Warriors now have three games in the win column — only one game behind UP and NU. As for the Maroons, their aim to reach the Final Four this year continues t...

(Photo Credit: Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports) DLSU Green Archers def. UP Fighting Maroons 85-62 Notable Players Ben Mbala, DLSU (27 points, 14 rebounds, 7 offensive rebounds, 28.33 minutes of hounding Paul Desiderio):  "You don't like me when I am angry" is a phrase patented by the Hulk, that fierce green giant.  When Mbala got angry, he decisively shut down Paul Desiderio from making any buckets on his watch.  Mbala blanked the UP rapid shooter who was only able to cough out two successive triples in the second quarter when La Salle shifted to their 1-2-2 leaving the wings open. Mbala made more strong backdoor cuts that resulted into easy twos or sending him to the line where he made 12 of 14 attempts. Ricci Rivero, DLSU (20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals):  Talk about coming back from scoring coma, Ricci Rivero came into life for the 3rd straight game aptly supporting Mbala in keeping UP's defense honest.  Using that unbelievable wingspan to the max, Ricc...

(Photo Credit: Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports) UP Fighting Maroons def. UST Growling Tigers 71-69 Notable Players: Janjan Jaboneta (14 quiet points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist) The starter designed for defensive missions against the fleety UST wings came out big in the scoring column connecting all his attempts from the distance.  Most notably was his three triples in the 3rd frame that sustained UP's lead against the desperate Tigers. Jun Manzo (11 points......... ) A doubtful starter with rumors swirling that the rookie from Cebu would require more games to recover from the freak injury.  What injury? Manzo ran rings around his defender and rolled out his new tear drop shot, one the face of  UST's Steve Akomo. Paul Desiderio (10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) With Desiderio's options fully covered by UST, he found other ways to be relevant by crashing the boards and setting up fellow Maroons.  But Desiderio has to go beyond his dribble-drive-ste...

(Photo Credit: Joaqui Flores, Tiebreaker Times) Adamson Soaring Falcons def. UP Fighting Maroons 73-71 Notable Players Jerrick Ahanmisi, Adamson (21 points, 8/11 FG, 2 steals): Ahanmisi loves to play versus UP doesn't he? Jerrick was Korean Noodles hot versus UP in the second quarter, where he put up a whopping 17 points to lead Adamson. He was key in making the comeback versus UP. Robbie Manalang, Adamson (8 points, 5 assists, 1 steal): After being outshone by Jerie Pingoy as of late, Manalang put up a solid effort versus UP by being a great play maker for Adamson in this game. If Adamson wants to make it to the Final Four, Manalang needs to jump off from this performance and continue playing well. Paul Desiderio, UP (19 points, 7/18 FG, 3 rebounds): No "Atin 'to, papasok 'to!" this time, UP. Desiderio struggled all throughout the game, as he was hounded by Adamson defenders. As "clutch" as Desiderio may be, he needs to find a way to ma...

(Photo Credit: Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports) FEU Tamaraws def. UP Fighting Maroons 78-59 Notable Players Ron Dennison, FEU (16 points, 2/4 3FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, one shut down Paul Desiderio): Dennison was the man responsible in averting any UP run. Not only did he hit some big buckets down the stretch, but he played some terrific defense on Paul Desiderio, hounding him to a season low 9 points. Best two-way player in the league? No doubt. Richard Escoto, FEU (12 points, 5/9 FG,  +28): There's a reason why Escoto had the highest +/- number in the game; No one in UP could stop him because of how he dominated UP's forwards in the post. Dennison closed the deal, while Escoto was the one who stayed steady for FEU all throughout. Ibrahim Ouattara, UP (17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks): Ouattara was key in UP's UPrising *ba dum tss* during the third quarter, aggressively grabbing rebounds and attacking the rim versus FEU's small front line. He turned Bark...

(Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) Final Score:  UP Fighting Maroons def. De La Salle Green Archers 98-87 Notable Players Paul Desiderio (career high 30 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 53% FG percentage, 60% 3pt percentage) This man who has a single mission of creating nightmares for La Salle shredded Mayhem with his precise sniping from downtown.  Desiderio's aggressive one-on-one moves and with his fluidity in creating space using high screens enabled this deadly Fighting Maroon to keep the Green Archers at bay by scoring 13 points in the 3rd quarter.  Desiderio also missed only 1 of his 7 three-point attempt in the last three quarters engineering a UP comeback and taking the lead for keeps. Jun Manzo (17 points, 4 assists, 47% FG percentage + 1 bold tweet) This Cebuano kid has quickly picked up the Fighting Maroons swagger with a bold prediction before the start of the game.  Not only did he orchestrate the floor to Maroon perfection but also set up ...

(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 3 rd 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 M...

(Photo Credit: Mico Ongkeko, The GUIDON) Final Score: Ateneo Blue Eagles def. UP Fighting Maroons 92-71 Notable Players: Tyler Tio, Ateneo (14 points, 6/6 FG, 2 assists):  Coach Tab Baldwin opted to keep the rookie out of Xavier under the wraps because of an ankle injury last game. Finally, during the second quarter, Tyler was brought in and he immediately made an impact. Tyler did not miss at all in this game, and it was his explosion during the start of the fourth quarter which closed the door for any comeback from the Fighting Maroons. Thirdy Ravena, Ateneo (16 points, 6 rebounds):  Thirdy followed up on his monster game against Adamson with another solid outing.  The younger Ravena played controlled basketball for most stretches, and it ended with him top scoring for Ateneo with 16 points.  But what was more impressed was his efficiency. He shot a good clip from the field (57%), and he paired this with a great performance from the charity stripe (8/9)....

(Photo Credit: Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports) Final Score: UP Fighting Maroons def. UST Growling Tigers 74-73 Notable Players: Paul Desiderio, UP (17 points, 9 rebounds): I'll make this short and sweet. If it weren't for his shot at the end of the game, the Fighting Maroons would be in a crisis right now losing versus a sub-par UST team. He's notable, no doubt. Noah Webb, UP (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks): If it weren't for the crazy hustle he showed, UP would have likely lost this one. The energy, aggressiveness, and versatility he showed on the defensive end is going to be very valuable for the Fighting Maroons in the long run Marvin Lee, UST (20 points, 3 assists, 3 steals): He played some amazing, efficient basketball for UST. He showed being the go-to-guy doesn't always mean having to handle the rock at a high rate. He moved very well without the ball, picking his spots and only shooting when a good look showed itself. Great work. Steve Akomo, U...

The beat of the drums start to fill the ears of basketball fans, while Philippine Basketball Twitter is at its peak from 2pm up to 8pm. Students from different schools debate on who the best team is in the league. Players start to jaw at each other in order to get an edge on the basketball court. Of course, there's the sound of the alumni, with their finger pointed towards the referee as they shout "HOY REF, FOUL?!?!?!"  It's been a while, UAAP. We missed you. It's that time of the year again. To jump start the coverage for this season, we'll be previewing the eight teams by discussing a question that's of utmost importance for each one. This can be something that matters in the long-term or in the short-term. As long as it's something that can be a topic of discussion, we'll talk about it on this space.  Aside from the previews for each team, there might also be other companion pieces discussing the rookies and whatnot.  For our seco...

The UP Fighting Maroons managed to eke out a solid victory against the CSB Blazers in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup led by Paul Desiderio's 22 points and 10 rebounds. For more on last week's Filoil action, check out the Morning Rundown .  Otherwise, here are some photos from yesterday's action between the Fighting Maroons and the Blazers. All photos courtesy of Mico Ongkeko. Give him a follow here !