Fil-Am star recruit Zavier Lucero made his presence felt after scoring 18 points, eight rebounds, and three steals off the bench in just 22 minutes off the bench to lift UP to a 1-1 win-loss record.

UP struggled in the first half that saw them behind 10 points, 38-48, but the Fighting Maroons had other plans as Lucero ignited a 17-1 run in the second salvo, ending with a mid-range hit at the 7:27 mark for the 55-49 lead.

The Fighting Maroons even further shifted on high gear where they chipped in 36 points to seize a 15-point lead, 78-63, before expanding that spread to as high as 21, 88-67, midway through the final canto.

UP carried the momentum in the final frame that saw their lead expand to as high as 88-67 off consecutive shots from CJ Catapusan and Ricci Rivero with 6:45 left in the game.

Rivero tallied 19 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Carl Tamayo got 18 points and eight boards, and James Spencer and Cagulangan had 11 points and six points, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Sherwin Concepcion led UST with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep while Joshua Fontanilla contributed 17 points, five boards, and four assists as the Growling Tigers lost their second consecutive game.

Both teams will next play this Thursday with UP will face National University (NU) at 4:00 PM while UST will try to end its losing skid against University of the East (UST) at 7:00 PM.

The Scores:

UP 98 – Rivero 19, Lucero 18, Tamayo 18, Spencer 11, Cansino 7, Cagulangan 6, Diouf 6, Catapusan 6, Alarcon 5, Abadiano 2, Eusebio 0, Lina 0, Ramos 0, Calimag 0.

UST 82 – Concepcion 19, Fontanilla 17, Cabanero 16, M. Pangilinan 13, Manalang 7, Santos 6, Manaytay 4, Ando 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Garing 0, R. Pangilinan 0, Mantua 0, Samudio 0, Yongco 0, Herrera 0.

Quarters: 16-25, 42-48, 78-63, 98-82.