MANILA (UPDATED) -- University of the Philippines reigned over De La Salle University, 87-76, in the 2023 FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup, Tuesday afternoon in San Juan City.

Mark Belmonte put up 18 points and five rebounds for UP, while Francis Lopez scored 16 points with two dimes.

The Fighting Maroons imposed their presence early in the contest, building an eight-point lead at the end of the first.

It even ballooned to as huge as 21, 71-50, in the 3:53 mark of the third frame after a trey by Belmonte.

Evan Nelle’s three-pointer cut the Green Archers' deficit to nine in the fourth, 85-76, with 57 ticks remaining, but it was the last stand of DLSU as State U kept their foot on the pedal until the final buzzer.

Before the clincher, La Salle posted an undefeated 11-game win streak, which is why Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde was glad that their preparation for the matchup bore fruit, allowing them to end the Taft-based squad's run.

"We have a lot of respect for La Salle, they're a really strong team," he said. "Ang maganda on our part, yung team really prepared for this, and thankfully, it showed."

Leading the silver medalists meanwhile was Evan Nelle with 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Mark Nonoy contributed 13 points and three steals.

UP's defense limited Kevin Quiambao to just seven points on 2-of-15 shooting, with the big man going 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. Quiambao contributed 11 rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

The Green Archers will be back in action tomorrow in the PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup Finals donning EcoOil La Salle as they face Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda in the first game of their best-of-three series.

• La Salle, San Beda gear up for D-League finals

BOX SCORES

UP 87 - Belmonte 18, Lopez 16, Cagulangan 10, Diouf 10, Cansino 10, Alarcon 9, Abadiano 4, Briones 4, Alter 2, Torculas 2, Gagate 2, Felicilda 0, Torres 0

LA SALLE 76 - Nelle 19, Nonoy 13, Policarpio 8, Quiambao 7, M Phillips 7, Austria 7, Gollena 7, Abadam 4, Nwankwo 2, David 2, Escandor 0, Manuel 0, B Phillips 0

QUARTERS: 30-22, 54-45, 75-57, 87-76