By ANGELO CAPARAS
Rey-Adrian Remogat showed steely nerves down the stretch and powered the University of the Philippines to a thrilling 83-78 come-from-behind win over La Salle to clinch a finals berth in the PlayTime Cares 18th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup on Sunday, July 13, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Given up for dead after falling behind by 15 points early in the game, the Maroons steadily worked their way up before the transferee from UE exploded and capped it off with back-to-back triples to give the Fighting Maroons a 78–73 lead.
The Maroons held their ground the rest of the way to preserve the win.
The combo guard, who went just 1-of-11 from deep before hitting his clutch triples, finished with 14 points, two rebounds, and an assist, while Gani Stevens, another transferee from UE, backed him up with 12 points and eight boards.
Gerry Abadiano also tallied 12 points, scoring the final five following Remogat’s treys to close out the game.
Green Archers’ backcourt tandem Jacob Cortez and Kean Baclaan chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively.
DLSU, who shot 23-of-43 from the line, absorbed their first loss of the tournament in the knockout semifinals.
With their three-peat dream still alive, UP is set to defend its crown against a surging National University squad that powered past UST, 96–84.
Jake Figueroa led NU with 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Lenard Santiago added 13 points with three blocks.
The championship clash and the battle for third will take place on Wednesday, July 16, at the PlayTime Filoil Centre.
