The day UE got Maroon'd

Paolo Romero of UP secures the rebound.
(Photo by Roy Afable)

The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons obviously would like to forget last season. So they decided to get a new coach and recruited new players to beef up their roster hoping to erase the "whipping boys" tag on them. Fil-Am Swingman Mike Silungan doesn't appreciate his team being called as such let alone having to go through thing for the upcoming season. A player like him with incredible talent is hungry for just one thing: Win.

Now that they got perhaps a couple of pieces missing for that winning formula in the form of Ifeanyi Mbah and Morian Gingerich -- foreign players to match up the likes of Ateneo's shooting specialist Kirk Long and big man Greg Slaughter. Let's not forget about new Maroons Head Coach Ricky Dandan to add to that list of pieces. Getting a W on powerhouse teams like Ateneo, UST, DLSU and FEU won't be an easy one but at least they know they have a chance.

Let's do the Eiffel Tower?
(Photo by Roy Afable)

On a Thursday of July 14th, it was time to test the "newly upgraded" UP Fighting Maroons against the University of the East Red Warriors. UE's somewhat on rebuilding mode and only Paul Zamar is the only seasoned veteran in the team. They tapped PBA Legend Jerry Codinera to instill defense-oriented tactics on the young Red Warriors team.

Right off the bat, the Maroons opened the game with a bang. They virtually outplayed the Warriors in the first quarter with 22 points. Despite outscoring the Warriors outscoring the Maroons in the Q2, it wasn't enough to close the gap before the half ended. UP coach Ricky Dandan was very much pleased with his boys performance but they weren't done yet. On the other side of the fence though, the Warriors knew their gonna get an earful from coach Jerry in the locker room.

The Maroon's Mike Silungan on the drive.
(Photo by Roy Afable)

The Maroons' domination continued in the 3rd Quarter. There wasn't sign of pressure on UP having that comfortable lead on UE. Paul Zamar and rest of the Warriors had virtually no answer from the scoring onslaught of Mike Silungan and point guard Michael Gamboa. UE may have controlled the boards at 49 the entire game but turning the ball over 24 times clearly hurt the team in the process.

It wasn't much of a difference in the final quarter. UE's scoring run came in a little too late. Holding the Maroons to 12 points in the quarter just wasn't enough. No mercy on UP's part. No room for error, they simply made sure they'd go all the way for that important W in opening day. When all the smoke was cleared and the horn sounded -- it's official, the Maroons win 69-61 over the Red Warriors.

Maroon love.
(Photo by Roy Afable

UE's supporters may have out-cheered the side of the UP but their silence was more deafening upon their team's defeat.

Michael Gamboa of UP was the Player of the Game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 dimes and a couple of steals. His teammate Mike Silungan chipped in 15 points, 3 steals, 2 boards and one blocked shot.

UE's Paul Zamar 14 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and dropped 3 dimes.

First Game Results:

UST -- 73 NU -- 72

Quarter Scoring:

UST

1Q -17, 2Q - 14, 3Q - 13, 4Q - 21, OT - 8

NU

1Q - 14, 2Q - 19, 3Q - 11, 4Q - 21, OT - 7

UST: Fortuna - 23, Ferrer - 12, Camus - 10, Teng - 9, Afuang - 6, Abdul - 5, Pe - 4, Vigil - 2, Sheriff - 2, Tan - 0, Lao - 0, Ungria - 0

NU: Villamore - 19, Parks - 16, Mbe - 13, Khobuntin - 8, Javillonar - 5, Ignacio - 4, Labing-isa - 3, Alolino - 2, Magat - 2, Celiz - 0, Terso - 0, Singh - 0


2nd Game Results:

UP -- 69 UE -- 61

Quarter Scoring:

UP:

1Q - 22, 2Q - 17, 3Q - 18, 4Q - 12

UE:

1Q - 11, 2Q - 20, 3Q - 16, 4Q - 14

UP: Gamboa - 19, Silungan - 15, Manuel - 13, Gomez - 9, Montecastro - 5, Maniego - 3, Gingerich - 3, Romero - 2, Mbah - 0, Juruena - 0

UE: Zamar - 14, Noble - 8, Javier - 6, Santos - 5, Sumang - 4, Enguio - 4, Sumido - 4, Zosa - 3, Chavez - 3, Casajeros - 3, Flores - 3, Tagarda - 2, Duran 2