National University Nazareth School secured the top seed and the first twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 88 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament with a commanding 83-66 victory over De La Salle Zobel on Sunday morning at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
In a preview of their Final Four matchup, the Bullpups relied on a dominant third-quarter surge — powered by Kurl Figueroa, Shaun Lucido, Rhon-j Matias, and Chad Cartel — to close the eliminations with 10 consecutive wins.
They also clinched one of the coveted playoff incentives, extending the program’s twice-to-beat streak to three straight seasons.
Even if Far Eastern University-Diliman (11-2) defeats Ateneo de Manila University (10-3) later in a high-stakes battle for the remaining twice-to-beat advantage at 12:00 PM, NUNS will finish the eliminations as the top seed with a 12-2 record after holding the superior quotient over the Baby Tamaraws.
With both teams splitting their elimination-round matchups, NUNS claimed the top seed with a quotient of 0.857, edging FEU-D’s 0.846.
“Marami kaming natutunan sa 10-game winning streak namin kasi doon namin nakita na hindi namin kailangang mag-relax. ‘Pag sinabi kasi na winning streak, talagang magre-relax, pero hindi naging complacent yung mga bata,” NUNS head coach Kevin de Castro said.
“Siguro yung composure and maturity na mindset namin every practice and every game, kailangan namin trabahuin. Hindi namin iniisip yung kalaban namin; ang iniisip namin yung problema namin sa loob ng circle namin, which is yung team,” he added.
In the third quarter, a long two-pointer by Deron Llamas kept the Junior Archers within reach at 48-42. But the Bullpups exploded with a 22-2 run — capped by consecutive layups from Miekho Natinga, Cartel, and Figueroa — to enter the final period with a commanding 26-point lead, 70-44.
NUNS maintained control in the fourth quarter as a Figueroa mid-range jumper, a five-point burst from Sofiane Bouzina, and a Chester Tulabut layup kept DLSZ trailing 79-58 with 3:20 remaining.
Figueroa led the Bullpups with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds, while Corian Cabantog contributed 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Rhon-j Matias recorded 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Cartel then added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, six steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Lucido and Bouzina scored eight points each, while Mot Matias contributed four points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
For the Junior Archers, who will enter the Final Four as the fourth seed with an 8-6 record, star guard Maco Dabao struggled with 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Still, he added four steals, two assists, one rebound, and one block.
Sherwin Reyes scored nine points, while Llamas and Jake Alpapara had seven points each.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
In the later game, Mhico Abellar hit crucial free throws as University of the East ended Season 88 with a hard-fought 77-73 victory over Adamson University, snapping a three-game skid.
The Junior Warriors — sending off Drei Lorenzo, Jamal Diaz, Ivorian center JM Edoukou, Louie Bual, and Kyle Timbol — finished fifth with a 5-9 record.
Meanwhile, the Baby Falcons closed the season with a six-game losing streak and a 4-10 record, marking their worst finish in nine years since a 2-12 season in 2017.
“Gusto namin mag-end up with a win, lalo na ito yung pinaka-bonded namin na team. Kahit sabihin natin na masakit na we did not make it to the Final Four and kinapos sa ultimate goal namin na mag-champion, happy na rin ako na na-end up namin na may panalo,” UE head coach Karl Santos said.
The Junior Warriors built a comfortable 71-58 lead with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter, thanks to a six-point spurt from Lorenzo and a layup by Edoukou. Adamson, however, refused to go quietly, scoring nine straight points — including back-to-back inside hits by Kevin Frogoso and Makoy Matillano, a Mac Jenodia stepback triple, and a Chrys Gomez layup — to cut the deficit to 71-67 with 3:01 remaining.
Abellar, however, sank four of the team’s final six points from the free-throw line to seal the win and end the season on a high note.
Lorenzo led UE with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds, one assist, and one block. Abellar finished with 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting, three rebounds, and three assists.
Ethan Aguas contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block, while Jamal Diaz also scored 10 points with two rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team
For Adamson, Jarl Artango paced the team with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, six assists, one rebound, and one steal, while rookie Fran Flores added 17 points, two rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Jenodia contributed 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist.
Artango, Jenodia, and Matillano played their final games for the Baby Falcons.
The Scores:
First Game:
NUNS (83) – Figueroa 14, Cabantog 12, R. Matias 10, Cartel 9, Bouzina 8, Lucido 8, Natinga 5, Diakite 5, M. Matias 4, Juan 2, Tulabut 2, Sison 2, Mann 2, Manding 0, Timbang 0.
DLSZ (66) – Dabao 10, Reyes 9, Llamas 7, A. Alpapara 7, Favis 5, Arejola 5, Luna 5, Trillo 5, Mikailu 4, O. Alpapara 4, Borrero 3, Tan 2, Dimayuga 0.
Quarterscores: 26-20, 44-38, 70-44, 83-66.
Second Game:
UE (77) – Lorenzo 19, Abellar 12, Aguas 10, Diaz 10, Edoukou 5, Bual 4, Pascual 4, Roquid 4, Orca 3, Braga 2, Oraa 2, Panganiban 2, Copada 0, Ferreros 0.
AdU (73) – Artango 18, Flores 17, Jenodia 13, Bautista 7, Gomez 6, Frogoso 4, Babad 4, Matillano 2, Garcia 2, Alcartado 0, Fongtong 0, Eiman 0, Sailog 0.
Quarterscores: 27-14, 45-38, 63-54, 77-73.
