University of the Philippines dethroned defending champion Ateneo with a 57-46 victory to march onto its third straight finals appearance in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Nov. 25, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

Reigning MVP Malick Diouf and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Francis Lopez erupted for double-double performances to carry the fight for the Fighting Maroons, who booked an early ticket to the finals after enjoying a top seed advantage in the Final Four era.

Diouf was unstoppable on both fronts by delivering 12 points and hauling 16 rebounds, while Lopez was equally impressive by chipping in 12 markers and grabbing 10 boards. 

The victory, which was witnessed by 14,505 fans, arranged UP a championship date with the winner between De La Salle and National University.

Janjan Felicilda also spelled the difference for the Maroons with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Gerry Abadiano poured in nine markers and made five rebounds.

The battle of Katipunan saw both squads engage in a low-scoring first-half affair with Ateneo leading UP, 25-22.

But the Fighting Maroons slowly pulled away in the third quarter after back-to-back defensive stops that was quickly followed up by Aldous Torculas’ five straight points.

Felicilda rifled a three-pointer with 6:01 left to give UP a comfortable 51-42 advantage but Jared Brown answered back for Ateneo with his first and only field goal to trim the gap, 51-44.

Despite the Blue Eagles’ last-gasp effort to turn things around, Lopez iced the games with four unanswered points in the last 30 ticks.

This would be the first time since Season 78 that Ateneo would not be competing in the Finals.

Chris Koon was the lone bright spot for Ateneo – and the only double-digit scorer – with 10 points on top of eight rebounds, as Kai Ballungay and Mason Amos were limited to eight and six points.

Ateneo was actually coming off a rubber match against Adamson for the fourth and last seeding, but failed to sustain that momentum.




The scores:

UP 57 – Diouf 12, Lopez 12, Felicilda 10, Abadiano 9, Torculas 7, Cansino 3, Cagulangan 2, Alarcon 2, Pablo 0, Torres 0, Alter 0, Belmonte 0, Fortea 0.

ATENEO 46 – Koon 10, Ballungay 8, Espinosa 7, Amos 6, Obasa 4, Brown 3, Chiu 3, Credo 3, Quitevis 2, Lazaro 0.

Quarterscore: 7-11; 22-25; 42-37; 57-46.