Zavier Lucero established himself as one of University of the Philippines' main scorers after leading in the third quarter en route to a 98-82 win against University of Santo Tomas in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Tuesday night, March 29.
Lucero provided the spark for UP after halftime as he scored eight of his 18 points in the third period and finished on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting to go with eight rebounds and three steals.
But none of these would be possible, Lucero said, without the help of his teammates who, according to UP coach Goldwin Monteverde played unselfish and good basketball.
"I would say I was a little more comfortable," said the former Cal State Maritime Academy standout. "After the Ateneo game, my teammates and my coaching staff, they really reiterated their confidence in me
"But I mean, this performance, if you look at it, basically all my points, they came from my teammates finding me in spots that I could get those shots to go so credit to them 'coz I would have not been able to score and do what I was doing unless they were there to help," said the 6-foot-6 Filipino-American forward.
Lucero contributed to the Fighting Maroons' 13-0 run heading into the third quarter with the help of Carl Tamayo, Ricci Rivero, and Joel Cagulangan to take their first lead of the game at 51-48.
Since then, UP caught momentum and unloaded another commanding 20-4 blitz to pull away for good and never look back.
Monteverde's system also paved the way for Lucero's breakout game as the Fighting Maroons took their first win of the season after suffering a 90-81 beating from the Blue Eagles on opening day last March 26.
The new UP tactician lauded his wards for adjusting from their loss and delivering down the stretch, especially with their shot selection and ball rotation.
"Ang maganda rito, they played as a team, catching up as a team, more movement ng bola, finding the open," said the multi-titled high school mentor. "Kaya para sa akin we played good."