UP bags ECJ trophy, completes first ever FilOil preseason 3-peat

The pristine ECJ Perpetual Trophy is leaving the Playtime FilOil Center for the first time and is headed to the Fighting Maroons in Katipunan.

For the third straight year, the UP Fighting Maroons topped the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup, pioneering the tournament’s first triple crown coup in its 18th edition after taming the National University, 79-65, at the FilOil Centre in San Juan on July 27.

The Fighting Maroons are set to receive the tourney’s historic ECJ trophy, which was designed to be awarded to any team that would accomplish a three-peat in the said tilt.

Gerry Abadiano was named the FilOil Preseason MVP after notching 13 points, three steals, and two rebounds in the winner-take-all match.

Anchoring UP’s defense was their foreign student-athlete Francis Nnorka, who chipped in a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. He was also awarded the Best Defensive Player nod.

Defending UAAP men’s basketball champion UP took the rough road before dueling the NU team, which won the championship in 2022 before the Fighting Maroons captured the next two.

Finishing the elimination round as the third seed of the UAAP Group, UP then survived a thriller against the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, who emerged as the second seed in the NCAA Bracket.

Abadiano registered 24 points, five rebounds, and two assists to survive Benilde’s gallant efforts down the stretch but fell short of an 82-80 finish in favor of UP.

Standing in front of UP’s three-peat bid was the mighty De La Salle Green Archers, who entered the semis showdown with an unscathed record as the top-seeded squad, bannered by its Kean Baclaan and Jacob Cortez backcourt.

The men in maroon stared at a 15-point deficit, 28-43, late in the second quarter before climbing back to 72-73 in the final two minutes of the match.

Rey Remogat then took command despite an awful 1-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc after sinking back-to-back clutch triples to give the Fighting Maroons a 78-73 lead with just 23 seconds left in the duel.

Abadiano backstopped Remogat’s clutch efforts after calmly scoring five more markers to keep any of La Salle’s offensive efforts at bay. UP then fled with an 83-78 victory as they arranged a Finals showdown against the Bulldogs two weeks later.

Despite La Salle’s loss, the green-clad men have 4 titles -– the mostin tournament history.