DEFENDING champion University of the Philippines rallied from 16 points in the first half and leaned to Terrence Fortea in overtime to turn back Adamson, 87-78, and remain unbeaten in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Philsports Arena.

Fortea was superb in the extra session, nailing back-to-back triples and assisted Malick Diouf’s slam dunk to give the Fighting Maroons the needed separation at 82-74 with 2:28 remaining.

Continuing to shine in the absence of injured guard JD Cagulangan, Fortea recorded 12 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds in 34 minutes of action.

“Terrence really picking up naman since before na mag-start,” said Fighting Maroons coach Goldwin Monteverde. “Last season was a big adjustment for him kasi for that position but this season, I think unti-unti, siguro habang wala si Maimai (JD Cagulangan), nabibigyan siya ng time at nag-iimprove siya.”

“Hopefully, pagbalik ni Maimai, at least puwede silang magsabay,” he added.

The Falcons lost a 47-31 halftime lead but were able to send the game into overtime after Joem Sabandal calmly hit three free throws off a James Spencer foul with 0.1 second left in regulation, but the San Marcelino-based cagers could not get the job done.

Zavier Lucero led the Fighting Maroons with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Senegal’s Diouf produced a double-double outing of 13 points and 12 boards to go with four blocks and four assists.

Jerom Lastimosa came through with 25 points, six assists and six rebounds while Congo’s Lenda Douanga chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Adamson, which fell to 0-2.

Bucking the absence of fever-stricken Evan Nelle, La Salle later entered the win column, unleashing a third quarter breakaway to overwhelm University of Santo Tomas, 83-63.

Earlier, University of the East sent Far Eastern University to its worst start in 16 years with a 76-66 win to open the league’s first-ever playdate at the fabled Pasig venue since August 2010.

The Green Archers and the Red Warriors are now tied with the Growling Tigers to 1-1 in the young season.

After exploding for 33 points in the opener, UST sniper Nic Cabañero could only score 10 points on 5-of-20 shooting.

“We scouted them against Adamson. We came out and execute the things we wanted to do,” said coach Derrick Pumaren, as La Salle will play Ateneo on Sunday.

Schonny Winston led the Green Archers with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, CJ Austria had 13 points, while rookie Kevin Quimabao and Mike Phillips each scored 11 points.

Phillips completed a double-double with 12 boards.

Kyle Paranada was solid with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting and dished out five assists as the Red Warriors halted a 15-game losing streak, while sending the Tamaraws to their seconds straight defeat.

It was FEU’s first 0-2 start since losing four in a row in 2006.

“Meron lang kaming lapses down the stretch but still the bottom line is the game plan was followed,” said UE coach Jack Santiago.

The Red Warriors unloaded a huge 25-8 third quarter and fended off a late Tamaraws charge to even their record to 1-1.

Winleess the previous season, it was UE’s first win since nipping National University, 79-77, on October 30, 2019. It was also the Recto-based squads first victory against FEU since a 90-65 rout of September 30, 2018.

Patrick Sleat took the scoring mantle for the Tamaraws with 15 points while Cholo Añonuevo contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

The scores:

First game

UE (76) — K. Paranada 25, Tulabut 9, Villegas 8, N. Paranada 8, Pagsanjan 7, Sawat 6, Payawal 5, Stevens 4, Alcantara 2, Antiporda 2, Remogat 0, Beltran 0.
FEU (66) — Sleat 15, Añonuevo 10, Torres 8, Alforque 6, Bautista 6, Gonzales 5, Tempra 5, Tchuente 4, Gravera 3, Sandagon 2, Songcuya 2, Guibao 0, Ona 0.
Quarterscores: 18-19, 38-36, 63-44, 76-66

Second game

UP (87) — Lucero 15, Diouf 13, Fortea 12, Tamayo 11, Alarcon 9, Gonzales 9, Spencer 8, Galinato 3, Ramos 3, Torculas 2, Calimag 2, Abadiano 0.
AdU (78) — Lastimosa 25, Douanga 11, V. Magbuhos 10, Sabandal 10, Hanapi 8, Yerro 4, Jaymalin 3, Manzano 2, Barasi 2, W. Magbuhos 2, Flowers 1, Colonia 0, Torres 0, Barcelona 0.
Quarterscores: 19-17, 31-47, 58-62, 74-74, 87-78

Third game

DLSU (83) — Winston 19, Austria 13, M. Phillips 11, Quiambao 11, Estacio 6, Abadam 6, B. Phillips 5, Nonoy 3, Blanco 3, Manuel 2, Nwankwo 2, Cortez 2, Escandor 0, Macalalag 0, Buensalida 0.
UST (63) — Pangilinan 11, Faye 10, Cabañero 10, Manalang 10, Garing 6, Lazarte 5, Escobido 4, Mantua 3, Calimag 3, Laure 1, Manaytay 0, Duremdes 0, Magdangal 0, Herrera 0, Gesalem 0.
Quarterscores: 30-21, 47-40, 65-46, 83-63.