UAAP: Chicco Briones provides spark in UP’s hard-fought win vs. UE

MANILA – Now in his last playing year, Chicco Briones is making sure to give his all in every game for the University of the Philippines.

He delivered for the Fighting Maroons in a big way on Saturday, stepping up against an upset-minded University of the East squad in their first round meeting in UAAP Season 89. 

Briones came alive in the third quarter for UP, draining three triples to put his team ahead of UE, 71-65.  

The Fighting Maroons had an answer to every run by the Red Warriors down the stretch to clinch the 91-81 victory to end the first round of eliminations. 

Briones finished with 13 points off three triples in just over 12 minutes of play. 

“My mindset throughout all times, you know, I just want to win. I have that winning mentality that has been instilled in me in my four years in UP. And it was just my pride that I didn’t want to lose to any teams, but still respecting how they play and who they are as a team,” Briones said during the post-game press conference.  

“But yeah, it was just an opportunity for me to be the glue guy for the team, whatever they need. So I just did my job and my role,” he shared. 

Briones said his performance against UE gives him a huge boost of confidence heading into the second round.  

But the graduating cager still deflected credit to his teammates, who trust in his ability to score especially in crucial moments. 

“A lot, to be honest, you know? It’s just the opportunity that I was given and, you know, I took advantage of it. But most of those baskets came because of my teammates, the offensive rebounds, the loose balls that they were diving for,” he said. 

“And all the assists that came from them. I wouldn’t be able to make those tight baskets without them. So, kudos to my teammates for trusting me with the ball and shooting, for letting me shoot those balls,” Briones added. 

UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde lauded players like Briones who rise to the occasion when their starting unit is not playing as well as expected. 

“Well, ano naman kami kumbaga as a team, of course, siyempre, pagka medyo masama ang start namin kanina. Having some players coming from the bench that could contribute sa team, siyempre it’s big for us as a team,” he said. 

“And ito mga challenge na hinaharap namin, alam naman namin na kahit gaano kahirap siya, it’s just preparing us for more, much bigger challenges ahead,” Monteverde added. 

The UP Fighting Maroons finish this first round of elimination with a 5-2 win-loss record.