The UP Fighting Maroons Men’s Basketball Team (UPMBT) and Women’s Basketball Team (UPWBT) notched their fourth consecutive win by defeating the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in Season 86 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournament.

The UPMBT scored a breathtaking win in an overtime, 80-76, against the FEU Men’s Tamaraws on Oct. 11 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City. Meanwhile, the UPWBT warded off FEU Lady Tamaraws’ late-game run to stay undefeated, 64-61, also on Oct. 11 at the Adamson University Gym.

UPMBT’s Janjan Felicilda had a breakout game that contributed to the UP Fighting Maroons’ victory.

It was a close battle between the UPMBT and the FEU Men’s Tamaraws in the first three quarters, with the FEU Men’s Tamaraws ahead by two points, 56-54, going into the game’s fourth period.

The back-and-forth affair between the two teams continued in the final quarter. With the score tied at 65 apiece, Felicilda scored an and-one basket to give the UPMBT a three-point advantage, 68-65, at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter.

Both teams then were unable to produce points on their respective ball possessions, until FEU’s Jorick Bautista drained a triple to even the score, 68-68, with 30.3 seconds left in the game. Harold Alarcon of the UPMBT missed his jump shot giving the FEU a chance to steal the game with still 11 seconds remaining. The FEU Men’s Tamaraws, however, committed a backcourt violation to give the UP Fighting Maroons another chance with 1.7 seconds left.

Coming from a time-out, Alarcon found UPMBT’s Francis Lopez on the right side of the goal as the latter drained a turnaround jumper as time expired. The game went into overtime because Lopez’s supposed winning basket was nullified by the game officials, a result of Malick Diouf being called for an offensive ball interference.

The UPMBT and FEU Men’s Tamaraw battled it out in the extra period. With the score knotted at 73 each, Diouf converted back-to-back baskets to give the UP Fighting Maroons a four-point lead, 77-73, with a minute and 42 seconds remaining.

Bautista of the FEU drained another triple to push the FEU Men’s Tamaraws within a point, 76-77, with 30 seconds more to go. Meanwhile, UPMBT’s CJ Cansino was then sent to the 15-foot line on a foul committed by FEU’s Royce Alforque. Cansino converted his first free throw but missed his second attempt. FEU’s LJ Gonzales was unable to secure the rebound as the ball went out of bounds. In the ensuing play, Felicilda scored on a layup to seal the game for the UP Fighting Maroons.

Felicilda paced the UP Fighting Maroons with 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Cansino contributed 14 points, while Diouf posted another double-double performance, scoring 11 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Lady Maroons were in control from the get-go and were ahead by seven points, 55-48, at the end of the third period. Led by Louna Ozar, Kaye Pesquera, and Favour Onoh, the UPWBT established their game’s biggest lead, 64-50, at the 6:45 mark of the final quarter.

However, the Lady Tamaraws led by Josee Kaputu, Shane Salvani, and Jamerin Delos Santos, made an 11-0 run to cut the Lady Maroons’ lead to three points, 64-61, still with one minute and forty-one seconds left to play.

With 50 seconds to go, UPWBT’s Christine Bariquit committed an error to give the FEU Lady Tamaraws a chance to extend the game into overtime. The Lady Maroons, however, fended off the Lady Tamaraws and held on to see its fourth consecutive win.

Ozar paced the UPWBT with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Bariquit scored 11 points and seven rebounds, while Pesquera and Justine Domingo chipped in 10 points and eight points, respectively.  

Both the UPMBT and UPWBT will try to continue their winning streak when they face the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers on Oct. 14, 4 p.m. and the UST Lady Tigers on Oct. 14, 11 a.m., respectively. Both games will be played at the MOA Arena.