Fighting Maroons fans, you can breathe now.
UP beat defending champion La Salle 80-76 on Sunday night, October 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena. It was a rematch of last season's UAAP Finals, which La Salle won, so yes, this one meant a little extra.
It almost slipped away
UP was cruising with a 63-53 lead after three quarters. Then La Salle woke up. A 10-2 Archers run, capped by a Jacob Cortez three, flipped the score to 73-72 with 2:40 left.
But UP didn't fold. Veejay Pre hit a fallaway to make it 75-73 with 1:32 left, and the Maroons made four of six free throws down the stretch to seal it.
The players who showed up
Rey Remogat: 20 points
Veejay Pre: 19 points (7 in the fourth quarter) and 7 rebounds
Elliott Dimaculangan: 11 points
For La Salle, JC Macalalag scored 17, Luis Pablo had 14 points and 9 rebounds, Doy Dungo added 12 and Cortez finished with 10.
Coach's take
UP coach Goldwin Monteverde said the team knew what was at stake: "Going towards this game, we knew it was going to be a test of character for the team."
Where things stand
UP: 3-2
La Salle: 3-3, with a two-game win streak snapped
Fun fact: just four days earlier, La Salle beat Ateneo 83-76 in the 100th UAAP meeting of the two rivals, tying their all-time series at 50-50.
Meanwhile, UE's drought continues
In the other game, Adamson beat UE 71-64. That's 26 straight losses for the Red Warriors, dating back to Season 87 in 2024. Adamson coach Nash Racela summed it up: "UE is also due for a win."
The race is heating up. Who's your pick for the Final Four?
