National University made the most of its twice-to-beat advantage, eliminating Adamson University, 68-60, to book the first finals ticket in the inaugural University Belt Basketball Cup, Wednesday at the San Beda Gym in Mendiola, Manila.
But while the Bulldogs are now safely through to the best-of-three finals, they will have to wait a little longer to find out their opponent, as San Beda pulled off a stunning 74-73 upset over University of Santo Tomas.
With the game tied at 72-all and just six seconds left, Mark Llemit missed a short jumper for the Red Lions. Peter Osang grabbed the offensive board and was fouled, sending him to the line.
Osang calmly sank the first free throw to put UST up by one. Hoping to drain the clock, he intentionally missed the second — but the ball failed to hit the rim, resulting in a violation.
Off the ensuing timeout, Nygel Gonzales delivered a perfectly timed lob to Jomel Puno, who soared for the alley-oop game-winner — an “eye in the sky” play that sealed the shocking upset and forced a do-or-die rubber match between San Beda and UST on Saturday at NU Gym.
Bryan Sajonia led the Red Lions with 22 points, while Zed Etulle tallied a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Yukien Andrada also chipped in 13 markers.
Earlier in the day, NU cruised to victory behind a balanced effort.
Omar John led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Lenard Santiago and Jake Figueroa added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Figueroa also pulled down seven rebounds.
Nic Cabanero, who battled foul trouble for most of the game, still paced the Growling Tigers with 17 points. Osang had a monster outing of 13 points and 17 rebounds.
For the Falcons, Ray Allen Torres topscored with 12 points, while rookies Jireh Tumaneng (10 points) and Allen Perez (9 points) made solid contributions.
