Gerry Abadiano led the way as University of the Philippines turned back De La Salle, 67-64, to remain as the only unscathed team in the first round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Fighting Maroons hung tough until the final buzzer to frustrate the gritty Green Archers and stay perfect in six outings.

From down 47-38 at the half, UP used a telling 21-3 run in the third quarter, limiting La Salle to only one field goal.

Abadiano finished with a team-high 13 points and four rebounds and delivered consistent baskets to keep UP afloat. 

Meanwhile, Malick Diouf and Harold Alarcon both had 10 points apiece, with the reigning MVP tallying 18 rebounds on top of his field goals. 

The UP side was actually trailing for most of the first half, 35-24, before going on an 11-0 counter capped by Francis Lopez's freebies to put the match at a stalemate.

However, La Salle quickly got back on its feet with a 12-1 run to reclaim the 11-point lead bridging the third quarter. 

Carrying a 47-38 lead in the third quarter, Kevin Quiambao opened the scoring in the third quarter with a triple from the very first possession of the second half before they were blanked the rest of the same quarter.

In the closing period, La Salle managed to rally with another 11-4 fightback to tie the match at 63-all on a Quiambao jumper, with 2:13 left. 

Then with 2.9 seconds to go, the Green Archers, who were down 64-67, had their last chance with the final ball possession to potentially send the game into overtime. 

In the inbound play, Joaqui Manuel couldn't deliver the ball to his teammate as CJ Cansino came through with a game-winning steal for UP. 

“We started flat on both ends nung first half. And actually ang different lang sa akin ng first and second half ‘yong defense namin nung second half was much better. At the same time, ‘yong mga loose ball, we were really working for it. Nare-recover namin,” said UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde.

Mike Phillips paced the Green Archers with a double-double performance of 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Quiambao's 14-point finish was also spoiled by the streaking Fighting Maroons.

La Salle absorbed its back-to-back losses and ended up with a 3-3 slate.

The Scores:

UP (67) – Abadiano 13, Alarcon 10, Diouf 10, Lopez 7, Cansino 7, Torres 7, Belmonte 7, Cagulangan 6, Felicilda 0, Alter 0, Torculas 0, Pablo 0, Gonzales 0.

DLSU (64) – M. Phillips 15, Quiambao 14, David 7, Manuel 7, Nwankwo 6, Nonoy 5, Austria 5, Abadam 2, Macalalag 2, Policarpio 1, B. Phillips 0, Escandor 0, Gollena 0.

Quarterscores: 21-28, 38-47, 59-50, 67-64