National University Nazareth School breezed past also-ran University of the Philippines Integrated School, 92-60, to secure a playoff for a Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Beyond extending their winning streak to seven games, the Bullpups — playing without Malian center Moussa Diakite due to a minor foot injury — relied on Shaun Lucido and Mot Matias to dismantle the Fighting Maroons and move one step closer to a Final Four berth.
They joined the Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, who earlier overcame defending champions UST Tiger Cubs, as the teams assured of a playoff for a semifinals ticket.
Meanwhile, De La Salle Zobel broke a scoring slump in the payoff period to defeat University of the East, 59-47, and maintain solo fourth place with three games remaining in the elimination round of the tournament, held in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission.
With these contrasting victories, NUNS remained tied for first with FEU-D, both holding 9-2 records, while DLSZ created a two-game cushion for fourth place with a 6-5 slate.
UST, Adamson, and UE remained locked in a three-way tie for fifth place with 4-7 records after separate losses to FEU-D, Ateneo de Manila University, and DLSZ, respectively.
“Before this game, i-treat natin ito as a playoff game kasi doon nasusukat yung growth namin. Pero the way we played today, medyo nag-relax kami. Given talaga ‘yon kasi ito yung mga mahirap kalaban, yung winless,” Bullpups head coach Kevin de Castro said.
“Medyo bad game for us, pero kailangan namin trabahuin yung last three games namin kasi very crucial pa rin ‘yon.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
NUNS wasted no time asserting its dominance, opening with a 27-14 first-quarter lead. Then consecutive layups from Sofiane Bouzina, Matias, Lucido, and Ronnie Juan pushed UPIS into a 24-point deficit, 52-28, by halftime.
The Fighting Maroons struggled to respond in the second half as two Miekho Natinga triples and a four-point swing by Kurl Figueroa gave the Bullpups a commanding 74-37 advantage with seconds remaining before the payoff period.
NUNS outrebounded UPIS by 20 (48-28), shot efficiently at 33-of-73 from the field, recorded 19 steals, and forced 25 turnovers in the wire-to-wire triumph.
Lucido led the Bullpups with 16 points, five rebounds, five steals, and four assists, followed by Matias with 12 points, five steals, four assists, and three rebounds. Figueroa added 10 points and six rebounds, while Cartel and Natinga contributed nine points each.
For UPIS, Bruce Tubongbanua paced the team with 23 points, six rebounds, six steals, four assists, and two blocks. Kean Poquiz had 13 points, four assists, two rebounds, and one block.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the later game, the Junior Warriors stayed within striking distance in the third period, trailing 37-34. But the Junior Archers responded with 13 straight points — capped by two Ken Atienza layups and a Champ Arejola stepback jumper — to enter the payoff period with a 16-point, 50-34 lead.
DLSZ then leaned on its defensive identity in the fourth quarter to overcome offensive struggles. The Junior Archers opened the period with an Atienza layup, restoring a 52-39 cushion with 3:54 remaining.
Two Louie Bual free throws, an Ethan Aguas layup, and a Jamal Diaz triple cut the deficit to 54-46 with exactly 60 seconds left, but Mark Borrero sealed DLSZ’s hard-fought victory by converting three of his four free-throw attempts.
“I think what kept us there was that even though we weren’t scoring, we were doing our part defensively. It’s something that we can improve on, especially heading into our last few games in the eliminations,” Junior Archers head coach Gian Nazario said.
“Tulad nung last game, sabi ko nga kay Maco… He may not have a good scoring output, or there would be games that he would score a lot and still lose. I believe, and I trust these guys that they can do other things aside from scoring the basketball.”
Atienza shone with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, along with five rebounds, two blocks, and one assist, while Maco Dabao added 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, and one assist. Borrero finished with 12 points, three steals, two rebounds, and two assists, and Arejola contributed eight points, four rebounds, and three steals.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For the Junior Warriors, Diaz led with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, while Bual had 10 points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal.
Aguas was limited to four points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Sizco Roquid managed just a single point.
The Scores:
Third Game:
NUNS (92) – Lucido 16, M. Matias 12, Figueroa 10, Cartel 9, Natinga 9, Bouzina 8, Timbang 5, Mann 5, R. Matias 5, Tulabut 4, Juan 2, Celiz 2, Sison 2, Manding 1.
UPIS (60) – Tubongbanua 23, Poquiz 13, Hallare 9, Labao 6, M. Rosete 2, Lugatiman 2, Addatu 2, J. Rosete 2, Hernandez 1, Cobico 0, Villanueva 0, Ryan 0, Manguerra 0.
Quarterscores: 27-14, 52-28, 74-39, 92-60.
Fourth Game:
DLSZ (59) – Atienza 14, Dabao 13, Borrero 12, Arejola 8, Mikailu 5, Favis 3, Ferrer 2, J. Alpapara 2, Tan 0, Ja. Alpapara 0, Luna 0, Llamas 0.
UE (47) – Diaz 12, Bual 10, Timbol 7, Lorenzo 5, Aguas 4, Braga 4, Edoukou 3, Delos Reyes 1, Roquid 1, Pascual 0, Orca 0, Panganiban 0, Abellar 0.
Quarterscores: 15-11, 33-24, 50-34, 59-47.
