The Fighting Maroons will be the top seed heading into the event’s semifinals, dominating the NU Bulldogs anew with a wire-to-wire 79-57 victory on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

UP made sure that it wouldn’t happen, finishing the round with a 12-2 record and a four-game winning streak with an average winning margin of 17.75 points. Last season’s runner-up will await the winner of the Ateneo-Adamson playoff which takes place on Wednesday.

“We’re looking forward to the Final Four. It’s the same. Wala kaming pinipili sa Ateneo o Adamson. We don’t compare,” said third-year Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde. 

The Fighting Maroons’ dominance commenced after Francis Lopez, Malick Diouf, and JD Cagulangan linked up for a 10-0 start in the first quarter that the Bulldogs failed to overturn. 

UP was in control of the whole game, only allowing NU to come within 32-26 after a Jake Figueroa free throw at the 3:56 mark of the second quarter.

From a 13-point cushion by the end of the third frame, , Lopez, Felicilda, Chicco Briones, and Mark Belmonte pummelled NU further to give UP its biggest lead of the contest at 77-52 with 4:05 left in the game.

“We knew how tough NU is as an opponent. We really needed to prepare yung defense namin at the same time trying to improve pa rin playing as a team on both ends. I felt from the start, although sa gitna may mga challenge during the game, we as a team played well and we just need to sustain that,” said Monteverde.

Lopez led UP with 13 points while Diouf had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Cansino chipped in 11 points behind 5-of-6 shooting from the field for the Fighting Maroons.

“Basta, iniisip namin bibigay naming lahat. Kung sinoman makakaharap namin, we’re gonna make sure we’re gonna prepare for that. One thing na maganda rito, everybody is getting healthy towards the playoffs,” said Monteverde

The Fighting Maroons dominated the Bulldogs across the board.

UP got 15 steals in the game and scored 28 points off turnovers while NU only made seven and 13 for both categories respectively. 

The Fighting Maroons also pounded the paint with 38 points while the Bulldogs only had 18 points in the shaded area. UP also had 22 fastbreak points to NU’s three.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to third place with a 10-4 record behind back-to-back losses. They will try to make it to the finals for the first time since Season 77 by overcoming the Green Archers, who finished as the second seed and have a twice-to-beat advantage.

Jake Figueroa led NU with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Jolo Manansala contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Scores:

UP 79 – Lopez 13, Diouf 11, Cansino 11, Felicilda 9, Torculas 7, Cagulangan 6, Gonzales 6, Alarcon 4, Pablo 4, Belmonte 3, Torres 3, Briones 2, Abadiano 0, Fortea 0, Alter 0, Gagate 0.

NU 57 – Figueroa 15, Manansala 10, John 7, Yu 6, Baclaan 3, Yu 3, Malonzo 2, Enriquez 2, Jumamoy 2, Palacielo 2, Gulapa 2, Padrones 0, Parks 0, Galinato 0, Delos Reyes 0.

Quarterscores: 23-13, 42-30, 58-45, 79-57.