UP's Harold Alarcon. UAAP Media
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – University of the Philippines (UP) relied on the hot hands of Harold Alarcon to end the elimination round of UAAP Season 87 with back-to-back wins.
The Fighting Maroons turned back the Final Four-seeking University of the East (UE), 77-67, on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City, following their triumph against Far Eastern University (FEU) last Saturday.
Alarcon notched a career-high 33 points on 12-of-17 clip and collected five rebounds, while the 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown chipped in a double-double effort of 16 points and 12 rebounds, with the duo leading all UP players in the stat sheet.
The UP guard, although, downplayed his best night yet, but went on to say that it's a huge confidence boost ahead of their University of Santo Tomas (UST) bout.
READ: UAAP: Struggling UE looks to secure Final 4 berth in clash vs. UP
"Siguro, tsamba lang 'yon," said Alarcon. "'Pag free, kinukuha ko naman. 'Pag nakikita kong shu-shoot, tina-try ko pa rin. Nashu-shoot naman 'yung tira ko."
"Papasok sa Final Four, big boost talaga sa confidence ko 'to kasi last three games, parang shaky ako, eh. Parang nakatulong na rin siya sa sarili ko papasok sa Final Four. 'Yun lang," Alarcon added.
READ: UAAP: Ateneo fends off Momowei-less UE to snap 3-game skid
It was the veteran UP guard who dealt the killing blow against the Red Warriors, converting consecutive jumpers around the last minute to seal their 11th win.
The UP victory also denied the Red Warriors an outright playoff berth, keeping Adamson University (AdU) in contention for a spot to the next round.
The State U concluded the preliminaries with an 11-3 win-loss card, while UE (6-8), still in the fight for a Final Four berth, hopes Ateneo de Manila University defeats the Soaring Falcons this Saturday for them to end a 15-year drought of missing the semifinals.
The Scores:
UP 77 – Alarcon 33, Millora-Brown 16, Cagulangan 4, Lopez 4, Abadiano 4, Torres 4, Fortea 4, Briones 3, Ududo 2, Torculas 2, Bayla 1, Felicilda 0, Belmonte 0, Stevens 0.
UE 67 – J. Cruz-Dumont 14, Momowei 11, Maga 11, Abate 8, Fikes 7, Lingolingo 6, Go 4, Galang 3, Wilson 3, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Mulingtapang 0.
Quarterscores: 15-21, 41-37, 55-52, 77-67.