By Quico C. Munoz

The Battle of Katipunan proved to be more of a war than anyone expected as the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons upset the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 68-58, in the PhilSports Arena on July 26.

In a contest between teams with opposite fortunes, league-leading Ateneo suffered from costly turnovers accompanied by a cold shooting night on offense to hand the formerly winless Fighting Maroons their first victory.

After coasting through the first two quarters en route to a halftime lead, 32-29, the Blue Eagles were stunned by a 12-0 UP blitz at the beginning of the second half which gave the Maroons a 41-35 lead that they never relinquished.

Ateneo scored only six points in the third quarter all courtesy of sophomore Nico Salva, as the Maroons’ defense intercepted the Blue Eagles’ passing lanes and prevented the ball from getting into Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s hands.

Leading by as much as 11 points early in the fourth quarter, a more confident UP squad held their composure as the defending champions tried to stage a comeback through the efforts of Al-Hussaini and Eric Salamat.

Veteran Fighting Maroon Woody Co staved off the Blue Eagles’ rally with his timely treys, while Ateneo’s unforced turnovers and inability to convert on offense hurt their chances of recovering.

Al-Hussaini managed to score 17 points despite fighting off double and triple teams by the UP defense throughout the match. 

The Blue Eagles are currently 3-1 and will try to bounce back against the Adamson Falcons on Thursday, July 30, 4:00pm at the Araneta Coliseum.