UP sweeps Marty Cup Battle of Champions in Leyte – BusinessWorld Online
REIGNING titlist University of the Philippines (UP) primed up for its Filoil three-peat bid by sweeping the Marty Cup 2025 Battle of Champions pocket tournament in Tacloban on Thursday.
The UP Fighting Maroons drubbed the University of Perpetual System Dalta Altas, 81-71, in the finale to complete a 5-0 sweep of the invitational tourney in Leyte before their finals stint in the staple pre-season tourney this weekend.
Terrence Fortea was named Finals MVP as UP won all of its games by double digits.
The Maroons drubbed CNE, 85-44, Leyte Pilipinas, 122-68 and Lakawan-Benedicto, 91-71 in the elimination round before smothering Zachmatic in the semifinals, 117-57.
New ace Rey Remogat, who sat out last year after his transfer from the UE Red Warriors, also contributed along with the championship core of Gerry Abadiano, Harold Alarcon, Jacob Bayla, Gani Stevens and Reyland Torres following the departure of Quentin Millora-Brown and Francis Lopez.
It’s another feather in UP’s cap as part of its UAAP build-up and it will shoot for another against National University (NU) in the finals of the PlayTime Cares Filoil EcoOil 18th Preseason Cup on Sunday at the Playtime Cares Filoil Centre in San Juan.
At stake for UP in the Filoil finale, which was moved to a later date to the Fighting Maroons’ Leyte stint and NU’s overseas training camp, is a third straight championship that would serve as the school’s title defense in UAAP Season 88 later this year.
The Fighting Maroons beat the De La Salle University Green Archers in back-to-back Filoil finals and reasserted mastery once again in their early semis clash, 78-73, earlier this month to move a win away from completing a hat-trick.
UP also drubbed La Salle, 2-1, in the UAAP Season 87 finals for its second UAAP title in four seasons. — John Bryan Ulanday