article by John Reczon Calay, photo by Jiru Rada
The UP Fighting Maroons may have won only two victories so far this season, but for the lumads who visited UP Diliman (UPD) earlier today, the university’s basketball team has already won the championship.
In an interview with the Collegian, team captain JR Gallarza said they dedicate their winning streak to the lumads in Surigao del Sur, whose leaders were killed by paramilitary agents on September 1.
According to witnesses who held a dialogue with the UP community this afternoon at the UPD University Student Council conference room, Emerito Samarca, the executive director of the lumad school Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), was hogtied and stabbed to death. Manobo leader Dionel Campos and his cousin Bello Sinzo, on the other hand, were shot also by members of the Magahat-Bagani paramilitary forces, in front of the school’s students and volunteer teachers.
“We’re not just only student-athletes [and] we can help [the lumads by raising] awareness through social media,” Gallarza said, referring to the Collegian’s photo of Jett Manuel showing support for the call to stop the killing of Lumads.
Upon learning of the Maroons’ gesture of solidarity from the Collegian, the lumads expressed their gratitude and appealed to students and the youth to also join them in their fight for justice.
Two-in-a-row
The powerhouse Maroons team dazed the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 71-66, in their first face-off in the 78th season of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tourney, September 9 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Taft-based squad historically has been one of the best teams in the league and last brought home the championship in 2013. The Diliman-based squad has struggled to seize the tourney for almost three decades. Before this triumph, UP last outsmarted DLSU in the Season 72 first match-up on August 22, 2009 with an 83-78 tally.
The first quarter was a nail-biter, but UP prevailed over La Salle, 16-14.
A 10-0 UP run in the second quarter, however, decisively weakened DLSU’s attempt to snatch the lead, 26-17. Triple treys were fired by Manuel, Diego Dario, and Andres Desiderio during the opening minutes of the quarter. The Maroons closed the quarter, with a remarkable 13-point lead, 41-28.
The Maroons continued to overpower the Archers in the beginning of the second half as Dario and Gelo Vito contributed a combined three three-pointers to own the third, 54-42.
Paolo Rivero, Andrei Caracut and Tomas Torres of the Archers launched a furious campaign to snatch the lead from the Maroons during the final quarter and trimmed down UP’s lead was trimmed down to four, 65-61. Thanks to charity shots from Henry Asilum and Agustini Amar, however, the Maroons claimed its second victory in a row, 71-66.
Decisive win
UP tallied its biggest lead so far in the season, with 17 points.
Manuel led the Maroons scoreboard with 14 points, five boards, and five assists. Desiderio fired 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Meanwhile, rookie Piero Longa, after scoring only four points against UE last Saturday, added 10 points—six of which came from beyond the arc—for the Maroons. “It was a total team effort,” Manuel said, who was hailed player of the game together with Desiderio.
Rivero tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Archers. Caracut marked 12 points, five boards, and two assists. Jeron Teng, who was fouled out in the last minutes of the game, scored 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The Archers misaimed 21 out of 24 treys as they were limited to 12.50% three-point percentage in this game.
“Hindi ko masabi, basta napakaganda ng panalo namin,” head coach Rensy Bajar said with pride for the squad’s current unbeaten record.
The Maroons will attempt to snap a 3-0 card against the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers on Sunday, September 13, 2 PM at the Mall of Asia Arena.
SCORES:
MAROONS (71) – Manuel 14, Desiderio 13, Longa 10, Dario 9, Asilum 7, Moralde 5, Harris 4, Vito 3, Gallarza 2, Amar 2, Prado 2.
ARCHERS (66) – Rivero 15, Caracut 12, Teng 10, Torres 8, Sargent 8, Perkins 5, Go 5, Muyang 3.
QUARTERSCORES: 16-14, 41-28, 54-42, 71-66.