By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - July 8, 2008
It was a great Sunday at the Big Dome.
High-profile alumni of both Ateneo and La Salle were there. NBA’s Gilbert Arenas of Washington was also there. But the loudest cheers were reserved for boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
Yes, the boxing icon is also a rabid basketball fan.
Overshadowed by their presence and the victory of Ateneo over La Salle was an end of the long drought for the University of the Philippines.
The Maroons, who lost all of their 14 games last season, came away with a strong showing on their opening day tame the National University Bulldogs, 86-72.
State U’s performance was highlighted by a big game from third-year sniper Martin Reyes, who ripped the Bulldogs for 21 points on four triples while Andrew Marfoni and Jay Agbayani made strong efforts by contributing 11 apiece.
When the final buzzer sounded, the players celebrated into the court as if they just won a UAAP championship.
"This is my first game as coach of UP," said first-year mentor Aboy Castro. "But the boys were really ecstatic about this win because it has been 23 months since their last victory."
It was actually 21 months since the Diliman-based cagers won a game, when they defeated University of the East, 90-85, in the last game of the 69th season at the Philsports Arena on Sept. 3, 2006. That year, they finished with a 4-8 win-loss record under then head coach Joe Lipa.
After trailing 28-17 after the first period, the Maroons went on a 31-10 tear in the second quarter as Reyes led the team with 11 points in the first 20 minutes of action to lead UP to a 48-38 edge at the half.
"We were down early but I told them that we’ll be fine," said Castro, who thanked the UP community for their win. "I think maganda ang conditioning namin going into this game and we did a fine second half."
From there, it was all UP show as Maggy Sison, Mike Gamboa, Paul Sorongon, and Arvin Braganza joined the fray that kept the Bulldogs at bay.
Even veteran Edwin Asoro of NU was a non-factor for the day – no thanks to UP’s defensive effort. The PBL veteran was held to just four points before fouling out.
Sison, the team’s starting center, ended up with nine points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of play, Gamboa, the team’s wily guard, finished with eight points and five assists, while Sorongon and Braganza tallied eight and seven each.
Despite the victory, it’s back to the drawing board for Castro and his team as they have five-game stretch where they have to meet the top five teams last season.
In the next game, State U tackles University of Santo Tomas on Saturday, before meeting Far Eastern University, Ateneo de Manila, University of the East, and De La Salle.
"Right now we’ll just go back to work and will try our best to compete against the top teams," said Castro.
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