![UP Battle Aldous Torculas of the Maroons in the UAAP Season 86 men's basketball match against FEU Tamaraws.](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2023/11/IMG_0500_UAAP-86-mens-basketball-R2-UP-FEU_Sean-Torculas-620x413.jpg)
UP Battle Aldous Torculas of the Maroons in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball match against FEU Tamaraws. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – Aldous Torculas’ career game came at a perfect time as the University of the Philippines inched closer to a two-game lead in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Final Four.
With the race heating up in the elimination round, the Fighting Maroons demolished Far Eastern University 81-64 to eliminate the Tamaraws from play-off battle at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
Torculas recorded a career-high 13-point performance with five rebounds, two assists and two steals, putting the Fighting Maroons in top position for a two-carry lead at 10-2.
“I feel blessed and basically I’m just patient and I’m just doing my role in helping the team, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing one game at a time,” said the second. -year ahead.
“I haven’t thought about it much, I’m just focused on our goal and the team and of course it increases our confidence and we will bring that confidence every game.”
![UP Fighting Maroons.](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2023/11/IMG_0298_UAAP-86-mens-basketball-R2-UP-FEU_Malick-Diouf-620x413.jpg)
UP Fighting Maroons. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
At the break it looked like it would be a neck-and-neck affair, with UP holding a slim 34-27 lead, but the third frame would prove crucial for the Season 85 finalists.
The Tamaraws fell victim to a quarter-opening 14-7 UP run that pushed the Fighting Maroons’ advantage to 14.
The fourth quarter proved to be much of the same as UP pushed the lead to 19, 66-47, its largest of the match on a Chicco Briones jumper at the eight-minute mark.
Francis Lopez finished just one rebound shy of a double-double in the win with 12 points and nine boards, while Harold Alarcon chipped in 11 markers of his own.
The Tamaraws exit playoff contention at 3-9, but not without the efforts of graduating guard LJay Gonzales, who finished with a game-high 20 points. Jorick Bautista also scattered 17 markers and five rebounds, but to no avail.