The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons averted a late collapse, mainly due to back-to-back blunders by JV Gallego, to take an 89-88 victory over the National University Bulldogs, Sunday afternoon at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
UP climbed to 3-3 to tie the fourth-running DLSU Green Archers in the standings. NU dropped their fifth straight game to fall to 1-5.
However, the end game of the Fighting Maroons was a sight for sore eyes.
“The positive way of saying it is we won by learning. I’d rather have that than losing and learning. I just have a bad feeling with how we ended up that quarter,” rued third-year UP head coach Bo Perasol. “It’s a culmination of what happened in the past. I hope that we can quickly put this aside as we have a game on Wednesday.”
Behind the aggressiveness of Bright Akhuetie and a sudden-heater by Paul Desideiro, the Fighting Maroons were able to build an 87-79 lead with 1:34 left in the game. It would have been an insurmountable lead, but poor decision-making by the Fighting Maroons led to an NU fightback.
Off a timeout, Dave Ildefonso was able to find a cutting Troy Rike underneath for an easy basket. Dave’s brother Shaun then followed it up with two free throws.
NU head coach Jamike Jarin tried to go for a ‘hack-a-Bright’ plan but it backfired as Akhuetie knocked down two free throws.
“The irony is it was Bright who shot seventy-percent. He was intentionally fouled but he was able to deliver. We have to revisit our free throw drills,” added Perasol.
With 23.1 seconds left, Dave Ildefonso knocked down a clutch triple, while a couple of bricks by Jun Manzo later on returned the possession to NU. The Ildefonso brothers connected underneath to turn the game into a one-point game.
“We need to learn how to finish a game. If I have to review the game, I’d only be happy with fifty-percent of it,” shared Perasol.
Javi Gomez de Liano, who was having a career game, missed two free throws after being fouled by JV Gallego. With 7.6 ticks left, Gallego ran the length off the floor. However, he did not opt to shoot, but instead went for a pass as time expired.
Akhuetie ended up with 21 points and 20 rebounds for UP, while Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano finished with 20 and 19 points respectively. The younger De Liano added seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals to his statline.
Dave Ildefonso had 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Bulldogs. Joshua Sinclair and Gallego tallied career-bests with 13 points each with the former grabbing 11 rebounds as well.
UP will next face the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Wednesday, October 10, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. NU, on the other hand, look to end their first round on a high note when they take on the University of the East Red Warriors on Saturday, October 13, at the same venue.
The Scores:
UP 89 – Akhuetie 21, Gomez de Liano Ju 20, Gomez de Liano Ja 19, Desiderio 14, Manzo 8, Dario 6, Prado 1, Jaboneta 0, Murrell 0, Gozum 0, Lim 0
NU 88 – Ildefonso D 20, Sinclair 13, Gallego 13, Ildefonso S 12, Gaye 11, Clemente 9, RIke 4, Diputado 3, Morido 2, Yu 1, Joson 0, Aquino 0, Malonzo 0, Tibayan 0, Galinato 0
Quarterscores: 26-20, 47-40, 70-62, 89-88
