The defending champions, University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, survived the gritty Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 69-66, to notch their fourth win in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday, October 12.

In the dying minutes of the game, the Tamaraws had multiple chances to extend the game into overtime: Jorich Bautista’s two three-point attempts and Mo Konateh’s painful turnover of a pass from Kirby Mongcopa.

“As we always say, the UAAP is composed of teams that you cannot take for granted, whether it’s teams above, below, or the same as us. Considering the limited amount of games, you can expect every game to be like a dogfight – and FEU certainly, as expected, brought that out tonight,” said Fighting Maroons assistant coach Christian Luanzon.

Harold Alarcon led the Fighting Maroons with 15 points and six rebounds, while Jalen Stevens contributed 14 points and nine rebounds. Reyland Torres finished the match with 12 points.

For the Tamaraws, Jorick Bautista posted a game-high 18 points and five rebounds, while Mo Konateh had a double-double performance of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Janrey Pasalo added 11 markers.

Earlier that day, the National University Bulldogs had successfully withstood the fourth-quarter onslaught of De La Salle University Green Archers, 82-78, to hold the solo lead in the standings.

In the fourth quarter, PJ Palacielo and Reinhard Jumamoy provided a spark for the Bulldogs, leading to their victory.

“We’d like to say thank you sa nilaro ng mga bata. They really wanted it since the other day pa sa practice. You can see that they were so focused on what they’re doing, they were so relaxed. We know that when we entered this game, alam nila ‘yung gagawin nila,” said Bulldogs assistant coach Vic Ycasiano.

Jake Figueroa once again led the Bulldogs with 18 points and eight rebounds, while PJ Palacielo contributed 16 points. Paul Francisco finished the game with 13 points while Gelo Santiago added 12 markers.

For the Green Archers, Mike Philips had a double-double performance of 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Jacob Cortez also posted 15 markers. Kean Baclaan had 11 points and six assists.

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Leading by just a hair-thin margin in the dying minutes of the match, 67-66, Jalen Stevens of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons successfully converted a two-point jumper to extend their lead to three, 69-66, which was enough to win their fourth game.

After the game, Stevens said they would not stop moving forward, especially the highly anticipated finals rematch between them and the De La Salle University Green Archers will happen on Sunday, October 19.

“I’m just happy with how we improved throughout the season, but like our coaches said, we just have to keep our foot on the gas. Every team is gonna give us their best fight and we just got to come prepared,” Stevens said, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

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After their back-to-back losses against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers and the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, the Fighting Maroons are now on a four-game winning streak this season, the longest active streak.

At the back of the victories is Korean coach Cho Donghyun, who officially joined the team in their fourth match against the National University Bulldogs, ending in a 66-59 victory. Donghyun’s focus was on the defensive plays that helped the team withstand the offenses of other teams.

“I was also curious about the training system. A good opportunity came, and I joined thanks to the people who helped me. I was defeated twice in a row at the beginning of the season, but I think it’s fortunate that I joined and rebounded with two consecutive wins,” he was quoted as saying by Naver.

“Philippine players’ one-on-one defense is good, but 2-on-2 defense, hand-off defense, and similar situations are weaker. In Korea, when a screen comes, players try to avoid it and move out, but here in the Philippines, they bump into it. I respect their methods, but I try to suggest better plans when possible,” he added.

At the end of the day, coach Cho was just absorbing everything he can learned from the league that shaped KBL imports Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, JD Cagulangan, Rhenz Abando, and Arvin Tolentino.

“I’m just grateful. Filipino players are already making their mark in the KBL. I want to experience Philippine basketball, see the system, learn the good things, and bring that knowledge back,” he ended.

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Now in his third year with the seniors team, Reinhard Jumamoy has slowly shown that he’s the same guy who won the MVP in the boys’ division way back in Season 85, albeit better.

After their stunning win against the Green Arhcers, Jumamoy admitted that there were times he wanted to quit, but his faith in himself and God made him stay.

“Kinakailangan ko lang talaga magkaroon ng faith both sa sarili ko and kay God. ‘Yun ‘yung masasabi ko na walang problema na hindi matatagusan, basta may tiwala ka sa sarili mo and kay God,” he was quoted as saying by Tiebreaker Times.

“Wala ako masabi, grabe si Lord din kung magbigay kasi minsan, naisipan ko na rin mag-give up. Pero iniisip ko talaga na hindi ako ilalagay ni Lord sa sitwasyon na hindi ko matatagusan ‘yung mga ganitong problema. Luckily, grabe talaga si Lord.