Jacob Cortez was the difference for La Salle in a high-scoring marquee matchup against the University of the Philippines in the 18th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup presented by ABC Tile Adhesive as it came out on top, 106-99, Saturday, May 31, at the Playtime Filoil Centre.

The former NCAA Finals MVP dropped 31 points in an efficient 12-of-16 shooting from the field on top of five assists and four rebounds, all while feasting on whatever defense the Fighting Maroons put in front of him. It was also his setup of a Mike Phillips floater followed by his own stepback three that re-increased the Green Archers' advantage from four, 100-96, to 105-96 with 41.8 ticks to go.

"I was looking forward to facing UP. We all know how good they are, so we just went out there and gave our best," said Cortez.

Running mate Kean Baclaan also added 20 points, four rebounds, and two assists of his own, as Luis Pablo proved to be a thorn on the side of his former team with 11 markers and six boards.

"What was surprising was the halftime score; that could've been a full game already. That just shows how offensively, both teams are capable," said Robinson, referring to the halftime score of 62-60.

The two teams figured in an offensive back-and-forth that featured 14 deadlocks and 13 lead changes in front of a jam-packed crowd inside the San Juan venue. They were still neck-and-neck in the endgame, with Nigerian Francis Nnoruka's thunderous throwdown closing State U to just down four with under three minutes left.

In the end, however, Phillips and Pablo stood their ground on defense just as UP went back to Nnoruka time and again, while Cortez took care of the other end all the way to La Salle's rise to 2-0. For the past two years, the Green Archers were felled by the Fighting Maroons in the finals of the preseason tilt which has PlayTime Cares, Filoil, EcoOil, Hanes, Bostik El Heneral, Jiang Nan Hotpot, Lamtex Pipes, Smart, and Puso Pilipinas as major sponsors, and Harbor Star, Wallem, Akari, BDO, Tela.com Athletics, Nature’s Spring, Reyes Barbecue, and Brothers Burger as minor sponsors.

For UP, Nnoruka continued to impress with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, as it suffered its first setback after back-to-back wins.

Meanwhile, National U finally righted the ship courtesy of a well-earned 72-67 win against University of the East.

Missing top gun Jake Figueroa, PJ Palacielo did the heavy lifting to the tune of 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, as Reinhard Jumamoy chimed in 12 markers, two boards, and two dimes of his own in the Bulldogs' first win in three games.

NU leaned on its depth and balance to break the game open in the third, and totaled a 46-15 advantage in bench points. With several players contributing, they widened a six-point edge at the midway mark of the quarter into a 60-44 lead entering the final frame.

"Ngayong wala si Jake, gusto naming makita sino mag-step up. Thankfully naman, nangyari yun," said head coach Jeff Napa, as Figueroa was taking care of his academics.

The Red Warriors are yet to break through under first-year shot-caller Chris Gavina, falling to 0-3. Wello Lingolingo topped the scoring column with 18 points, while Precious Momowei pounded in a 17-marker, 18-rebound double-double.

Over in the NCAA Group, Emilio Aguinaldo College scored back-to-back wins thanks to a third quarter surge that sank Lyceum, 82-74.