Top-seeded National University Nazareth School bounced back from its first defeat of the season, dethroning Adamson University with a nail-biting 64-62 victory to secure a spot in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Basketball Finals on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Bullpups are headed to the championship stage for the second straight season and their 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
They now await the winner of the other Final Four matchup between No. 2 University of Santo Tomas and No. 3 Far Eastern University-Diliman, which was still ongoing at the time of publishing.
For NUNS, the win was also a measure of revenge after falling to Adamson in three games in last season’s finals.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila, tandaan niyo yung mga pinagdaanan natin. Pinakita ko sa kanila lahat ng defeats namin since last year,” said third-year Bullpups head coach Kevin De Castro.
NUNS had entered the Final Four after a tough 76-56 loss to the UST Tiger Cubs, which denied them an outright finals berth.
“Very positive ako na yung tiwala nila sa akin nandun pa rin. Sabi ko nga, ‘kung ako may tiwala sa kanila, sila dapat magtiwala rin sa akin.’ Whatever happens to me, wala akong regret,” De Castro added, breaking down in tears.
“Gusto ko rin magpasalamat kay Coach Jeff (Napa) dahil last game, dinepensahan niya ako. So talagang yung panalo na ito, masasabi ko na credit sa boys dahil tinrabaho nila ito.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The Bullpups had to dig deep as last season’s Most Valuable Player, Collins Akowe, spent most of the game in foul trouble.
With their 6-foot-10 Nigerian big man limited, Adamson capitalized early, racing to a 13-2 start and holding a 47-42 lead entering the final frame.
But NUNS’s unheralded lineup of Migs Palanca, Mot Matias, Miekho Natinga, Alnhumaeri Usop, and Jedric Solomon sparked a comeback. Back-to-back three-pointers from Usop and Natinga with six minutes left gave the Bullpups their first lead of the game, 53-49.
NUNS extended its advantage to as much as eight, 61-53, with 2:54 remaining.
Adamson mounted one final push, trimming the deficit to two, 64-62, but with just 1.6 seconds left, time ran out on their reign as defending champions.
“First of all, I want to thank my players kasi ito yung hinahanap ko sa kanila na game — yung struggling si Collins tapos maganda depensa kay Mac. Ang biggest question lagi sa kanila is who is going to step up,” said De Castro.
“This game, nag-step up si Mot for Jid, nag-step up si Miekho for Mac, then si Miguel nag-step up for Collins. So kung meron man ako i-credit dito sa game, sila yun,” he added.
“Ngayon, may opportunity na kami to go to the finals at nabawian na namin yung Adamson. So ngayon siguro, ito yung time na mabawian namin yung UST. Wala akong masabi sa kanila dahil nakita ko yung heart at resilience nila.”
Palanca led NUNS with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Natinga delivered a career-best 11 points in just 13 minutes. Matias contributed eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Akowe, the presumptive winner of the UAAP’s first-ever Best Foreign Student-Athlete award, missed a double-double for the second straight game. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out with five seconds remaining.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Meanwhile, Adamson’s Mark Esperanza put up a valiant effort, finishing with 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
As the Baby Falcons bid farewell to their championship reign, seven key players — Earl Medina, Allen Perez, Jireh Tumaneng, Zahir Sajili, CJ Umali, Gabe De Jesus, and JR Abayon — will be graduating after this season.
The Scores
NUNS 64 – Palanca 12, Akowe 11, Natinga 11, Matias 8, Alfanta 6, Pillado 6, Solomon 4, Solomon 3, Usop 2, Cartel 0, Nepacena 0, Napa 0.
AdU 62 – Esperanza 24, Sajili 10, Umali 7, De Jesus 5, Medina 4, Tumaneng 4, Abayon 4, Perez 4, Murillo 0.
Quarterscores: 11-20, 25-33, 42-47, 64-62.
