SPORTS | Maroons Halt Radicals’ Late Surge, Spoil Rivera’s Heroics in 9th PUBL

Small in height, big in heart.

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Radicals Men’s Basketball fueled by a raucous home crowd and a career-defining performance from captain James Rivera, clawed back from a 20-point grave to within two possessions of an improbable upset. But while the Radicals showed grit and heart, their state university counterpart, UP Fighting Maroons Team A, delivered the final blow, riding a late Rey Remogat-led surge to escape the PUP Gymnasium with a 96-83 victory in the 9th Philippine University Basketball League on Tuesday, April 21.

The Sta. Mesa-based squad were aiming to get their second consecutive win in the tourney, winning their debut over the Mapua Cardinals, 65-59, last April 20, while the Maroons are hoping for a bounce-back win to get back on the tally board.

Rivera was the catalyst for the Radicals, putting on a shooting clinic that kept the home crowd's hopes on life support. 

The 5-foot-7 prized guard, Rivera, torched the nets for 25 points, living behind the arc and proving that the Radicals belong on the same floor as the big-league programs.

While the Fighting Maroons are spearheaded by Elliot Dimaculangan’s 15 points.

Neither teams backed off at the start of the game, exchanging baskets became the theme of both squads, PUP even had a head start, but UP started to heat up, executing their plays by the book, and slowly building their lead, wrapping up the first quarter 19-27.

In the second canto, the Fighting Maroons took control of the game with their suffocating zone defense that turned the Radicals’ isolation plays into a turnover parade and widened the score gap, giving UP holding a double-digit lead at the end of the half, 47-29.

The Katipunan-based team built a 20-point lead early in the third frame. Undeterred from the Radicals’ mid-quarter surge sparked by two consecutive steals at the  5:48 mark, they maintained a 63-81 advantage heading to the closing stretch.

Radicals showed different grit in the fourth, with its full-court press locking UP down—the margin slowly faded within the 5:09 mark, where Rivera cut the lead into single digits. 

Within the last two minutes, the clash was within the striking distance of six points, 83-89, not until UAAP star Rey Remogat took the matter into his own hands down the stretch, stabilizing the tempo, dishing a nice assist to shift the momentum back to UP, ending the fierce battle with an 83-96 win.

Despite the loss, the Radicals refused to fold despite the deficit, fueled by Rivera’s leading performance and a 14-point valuable contribution from VJ Montenegro.

In an interview with The Catalyst, forward Jayvee Zodiacal credited their defensive stamina.

“Ang naging motivation lang namin talaga ay…Lahat ng mga sinabi ng mga coach namin, lalo na nung half time, dun talaga po. Lalo na sa depensa, depensa lang po talaga,” Zodiacal said.

Despite the loss, Radicals’ head coach Theodelfonso Pacampara remained defiant about his team’s identity.

“This is a good chance for us to play with these guys kasi team A ‘yan e (UAAP players), can you just imagine, when we are getting closer to the score? Ang pinasok nila ‘yung last five na, that's the first five of UP sa UAAP…sabi nga there's always a chance,” coach Pacampara stated.

“Kaya ngayon medyo nakikilala na ang PUP. They respect us… Andiyan talaga ang respeto, the coaches are there. Even [iyong] coach nila sa PBA, si Coach Victolero (Mapua). So ngayon ang UP, the same. Yung coaches nila nandyan.” He added.

Following their clash with the Maroons, the Radicals returned to the hardwood on April 23 to face Philippine Normal University Torchbearers, where they secured a win and improved to a 2–1 standing.