Desiderio shoots UP's way to victory, over UST
Paul Desiderio was the hero of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons as he launched a clutch 3-point shot with 1.1 seconds left in the game, winning his team over University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers with a score of 74-73, at the Mall of Asia Arena, Sunday.
Paul Desiderio going up on Jeepy Faundo's arm. Photo by spin.ph
It was the Tigers, led by King Tiger, Marvin Lee, who dominated the first minutes of the game, but the Maroons managed to cut the lead and eventually took over.
UP went hot as they made back-to-back points, and consecutive steals, leaving UST with a halftime score of 42-33.
The Tigers tried to get their lead back, headed by their import, Steve Akomo, as he stepped up his game and made consecutive hammers, forcing to tie the game, 57-57 as the 3rd quarter closes.
Then came the last quarter, where Paul Desiderio shines and shows an exemplary performance showing no hesitation in going inside the basket despite a big Akomo blocking him.
It seemed like a victory for the Tigers as they led the game by 2 points after Lee made 2/2 of his free throws, 5.3 seconds left in the match.
UP’s head coach, Bo Perasol, called for a timeout with his team under, 71-73.
“Atin ‘to, papasok ‘to!” said Desiderio during the timeout, planning their team play.
Executing the plan, Jun Manzo got the inbound, passed it to Desiderio, who did not hesitate to go up Zach Huang’s arm, and buried a 3-point shot, giving UP their first win in the UAAP Season 80.
Desiderio was also hailed as the Player of the Game with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
The Fighting Maroons will be facing the Ateneo Blue Eagles next on September 13.
Promised to bounce back, the Tigers will fight against the Adamson Falcons on September 16.
