UP stuns defending champion La Salle

Not only did University of the Philippines give De La Salle University its first close contest in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament, the upstart contenders actually gave the champions their first taste of defeat in their title defense.

Paul Desiderio was still on fire, Jun Manzo and Jan Jaboneta were pleasant surprises, and the Fighting Maroons dropped an upset ax on the heads of the Green Archers, 98-87, on Saturday at the MOA Arena.

UP downed DLSU by double-digits - the very same DLSU that had just easily handled three contenders in a row. Josh Albeda, ABS-CBN Sports

For State U which had been dwelling at the bottom of the league for over a decade, trumping a DLSU side favored to go back-to-back is their biggest win yet. “Malaking panalo ‘to,” a beaming head coach Bo Perasol said post-game.

More than that, they pulled off the upset even as reigning and defending MVP Ben Mbala posted another power performance with 34 points. “Whatever happened, we didn’t panic. We were able to get back despite the torrid shooting of Ben in the beginning,” their mentor said.

Making it all happen was Desiderio who poured in a career-high 30 points on top of six rebounds and five triples. “Naglaro lang ako,” he expressed afterward, downplaying his second straight scoring binge.

Author: Norman Lee Benjamin Riego, ABS-CBN Sports
Full Article: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/23/17/uaap-up-stuns-defending-champion-la-salle