Malian center Moussa Diakite delivered a rare triple-double as National University Nazareth School outlasted Adamson University, 83-71, to secure the first Final Four slot in the UAAP Season 88 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Saturday morning at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
Diakite stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks, alongside three assists, as the Bullpups booked their third consecutive Final Four appearance since NUNS won the inaugural tournament in Season 86 and then finished fourth in Season 87.
His triple-double marked the season’s third and the sixth overall since the tournament’s debut in Season 86, following similar outings by University of Santo Tomas point guard Rowie Cabañero (October 15) and teammate Clark Khobuntin (October 8).
The victory also allowed the Bullpups to maintain a perfect record with 11 consecutive wins, strengthening their hold on solo first place.
“Syempre, masaya. Kaya lang, may mga time na nagre-relax sila. Kita mo sa fourth quarter, natalo kami. May bad habits pa rin sila na nagre-relax, kaya ‘yon pa yung need itama kahit may Final Four na kami,” NUNS head coach Leo Pujante said.
The loss pushed the Baby Falcons outside the Final Four picture, leaving them in fifth place with a 6-5 win-loss record.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Building on a 44-35 halftime lead, the trio of Diakite, David Sabareza, and Ian Manalo sparked a pivotal 12-5 run at the start of the third quarter, sending Adamson into a 16-point deficit at 56-40 — a hole it could not recover from.
The Baby Falcons refused to back down, as a Kieff Iledan layup and an Edison Jordan triple trimmed the deficit to 66-55 early in the fourth quarter. However, the Bullpups broke the game open with nine straight points — punctuated by back-to-back layups from Nick Peña and Diakite — to effectively seal the win with a 75-55 lead with less than four minutes remaining.
Peña registered 17 of his 21 points in the first half, along with four assists, two rebounds, and two steals, while Dean Tria contributed 11 points, four assists, and two rebounds.
Sabareza was limited to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting but added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Fran Flores led Adamson with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Iledan finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, plus three steals and three assists.
Uno del Monte and Edison Jordan also scored 11 points each, while Kyle Abas rounded out the Baby Falcons’ balanced attack with 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Meanwhile, defending champion University of the East also dominated University of the Philippines Integrated School, holding the Fighting Maroons to just 10 first-half points before cruising to a 76-29 victory.
With the win, the Junior Warriors — who will face UST, the Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, and the Bullpups to close the eliminations — stayed in solo fourth place with a 7-4 record. They also moved half a game behind the Tiger Cubs (7-3) for third place.
UE head coach Matthew Sia was pleased with his team’s ball movement and their defensive effort in holding UPIS to a season-low 29 points.
“I am very happy with our performance, especially coming into our UST game this Wednesday. Sinabi ko nga last interview, mabigat yung schedule namin, kaya every win counts. I am just happy din with our 23 assists today, coming off our last game na 22 assists. I am challenging the boys to share the ball and work harder pa coming into the next games,” Sia said.
The Junior Warriors asserted their dominance from the tipoff. They relied on the trio of MVP frontrunner Goodluck Okebata, Zion Aguilar, and Sean Felizmenia to score 51 points by halftime while limiting the Fighting Maroons to just 10 points on a dismal 4-of-30 shooting.
That proved to be all the cushion UE needed to secure its third consecutive victory, as key baskets by Felizmenia in the third quarter gave the Junior Warriors a 64-17 lead heading into the fourth.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For the game, the Fighting Maroons were held to 29 points on 10-of-61 shooting, while UE shot 29-of-80 from the field.
Felizmenia led UE’s balanced attack with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with three rebounds and one steal. Okebata finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and one steal.
Aguilar contributed nine points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Juan Mallabo added seven points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.
The Scores
First Game:
NUNS (83) – Peña 21, Diakite 18, Tria 11, Sabareza 10, Arzola 5, Manalo 4, Yanga 4, Khobuntin 4, Romero 4, Liwanag 2, Lalong-Isip 0, Gatumbato 0.
AdU (71) – Flores 13, E. Jordan 11, Iledan 11, Del Monte 11, Abas 10, A. Jordan 8, Vargas 3, Esma 2, Padrejuan 2, Vengco 0, Maycong 0, Adrade 0.
Quarterscores: 18-14, 44-35, 66-52, 83-71.
Second Game:
UE (76) – Felizmenia 12, Okebata 11, Aguilar 9, Perdigon 8, Mesa 7, Mallabo 7, Delos Santos 6, Ancheta 6, Mercado 5, Roxas 5, Pontipedra 0.
UPIS (29) – Poquiz 8, Lugatiman 5, Rosete 5, Labao 4, Bautista 4, Addatu 3, Manguerra 0, Sebastian 0, Okebata 0, Floirendo 0, Baldovino 0.
Quarterscores: 19-8, 51-10, 64-17, 76-29.
