Kyle Paranada took charge down the stretch to steer the University of the East (UE) to a huge 81-74 upset of De La Salle University, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Green Archers entered the game with great confidence after beating archrivals Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday, but they were out-played down the stretch by the upstart Red Warriors.
In particular, they had no answer for the shifty Paranada who scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the final six minutes while also contributing six assists, three rebounds, and three steals to UE's cause. His older brother, Nikko Paranada, added 18 points in the win.
Luis Villegas had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, as UE erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to complete the shocker.
"I just instructed my boys to be part of the history," said UE coach Jack Santiago, who admitted that they were inspired by National University's win over defending champions University of the Philippines in the previous game.
"Sabihin nating upset 'yung first game, so ginawa namin lahat ng magagawa namin to beat La Salle. Of course, sabi ko nga, just follow my instruction. Whatever happens, just follow 'yung instructions namin," he added.
The Red Warriors trailed 67-59, thanks to a jumper by Schonny Winston with six minutes to go, at which point Paranada seized control. The guard scored eight straight points, capped by a pull-up jumper in transition to knot the count at 67.
They went back-and-forth from there, with a split at the line by La Salle's CJ Austria tying the game at 73 with 2:32 to go. Paranada gave the Red Warriors the lead for good with 1:46 left off a turnaround jump shot in the lane.
It sparked a 9-0 closing blast for UE as they forced the Green Archers into turnover after turnover in the final minute of the game. Fittingly, it was Paranada who capped the run with a three-point play off yet another La Salle miscue with 34.9 ticks left for an 81-72 lead.
Winston drilled a jump shot at the buzzer to peg the final score, but it was too little, too late for the Green Archers who failed to build on their big win over Ateneo last weekend.
Instead of forcing a four-way tie for first place, the Green Archers fell to 2-2 in the season. Winston had 26 points in the loss, going 10-of-21 from the field while also contributing nine rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Kevin Quiambao had 15 points, while Penny Estacio put up seven points and seven dimes. La Salle was without Evan Nelle and Mark Nonoy in the game.
UE improved to 2-2, tying La Salle for a share of fourth place in the league standings.
The scores:
UE 81 -- K. Paranada 20, N. Paranada 18, Villegas 16, Stevens 8, Payawal 7, Sawat 5, Alcantara 3, Guevarra 2, Abatayo 2, Antiporda 0, Beltran 0, Remogat 0.
LA SALLE 74 -- Winston 26, Quiambao 15, Estacio 7, Austria 6, Cortez 6, B. Phillips 5, Abadam 4, M. Phillips 3, Nwankwo 2, Manuel 0, Macalalag 0.
Quarters: 16-16, 34-36, 51-56, 81-74.
