The National University Bulldogs, even with almost an entirely new line-up, displayed their patented grinding defense in a 59-54 win over the College of Saint Benilde Blazers Wednesday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Bulldogs got the jump on the Blazers with a 9-0 surge through triples by transferees Matthew Aquino and Matt Salem. However, the offense of National University dipped once the bench players went in. The Blazers, behind Christian Fajarito, were able to go on a 12-0 rally to gain the lead, 12-9. Free throws by rookie Kris Go and a triple by John Cauilan with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter gave NU a 14-12 edge.
“We’re really trying to emphasize ball movement now since we don’t have a go-to-guy right now besides Alfred (Aroga),” said NU head coach Eric Altamirano. “We need to be unpredictable on offense. There were glimpses kanina but we still need to work on it.”
NU’s grinding defense came into play early in the second quarter. Slowly, the Bulldogs were able to gain a double-digit lead through Jjay Alejandro and Salem to gain a 31-20 lead with two minutes remaining before the halftime break. The frontline of Fajarito and foreign student-athlete Clement Leutcheu closed the quarter strong for the Blazers.
CSB’s offense became stagnant in the third frame as NU’s pressing defense kept the Blazers at bay. Only Leutcheu was able to find his way to the paint, while his teammates settled for jumpers. Fortunately for the Green and White, NU’s offense became dismal as well. Majority of the Bulldog points came from the charity stripe, leaving them clinging to a six point lead to enter the final frame, 48-42.
“We held the opponent to less than 60 points which was our target. But we could not buy a basket as well,” Altamirano added. “This is part of our process and we are willing to improve.”
Buckets were hard to come by for both squads in the final frame. With NU still holding a 56-50 lead with eight ticks remaining, Fajarito was able to convert on back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to just two. An offensive foul by Cedrick Labing-isa and a costly foul by the point guard on Fajarito gave CSB the chance to tie the game. However, Fajarito missed both free throws, while Matt Salem converted on freebies of his own to seal the game.
“Well obviously first game. We started match but this is our first official preseason game,” Altamirano said after the game. “This is a young team so may mga first game jitters pa.”
Reggie Morido led the Bulldogs with 11 markers on 50% shooting from the field and 3/4 shooting from the foul stripe. He added four boards and two assists to his tally. Matt Salem knocked down two threes for ten points and grabbed seven boards.
Debuting CSB big man Leutcheu notched a double-double for his team with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Fajarito added 12 points and six boards in the loss.
The NU Bulldogs (A, 1-0) will next face the Perpetual Altas (A, 1-0) on Saturday, May 7 at 3:15pm. The Blazers (A, 0-1), on the other hand, look to bounce back against the San Sebastian Golden Stags (A, 0-1) on the same day at 1:30pm.
The Scores:
NU (59) – Morido 11, Salem 10, Labing-isa 6, Diputado 6, Go 5, Alejandro 3, Aquino 4, Yu 4, Cauilan 3, Abatayo 3, Salim 2, Gallego 1, Mosqueda 1, Rangel 0.
CSB (54) – Leutcheu 13, Fajarito 12, Sta. Maria 9, Young 5, Haruna 4, Domingo JJ 3, Domingo JS 3, Dizon 2, Belgica 2, Pajarillaga 1, Castor 0, Pasamante 0, Pili 0, San Juan 0.
Quarterscores: 14-12, 32-25, 48-42, 59-54.
