National University Nazareth School completed an elimination-round sweep of last season’s Finals rival Adamson University, cruising to a dominant 71-49 victory to remain unbeaten in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Bullpups, now at 9-0, also defeated the defending champions in the first round, 73-60, last February 9.
It was Adamson which denied NUNS the championship in Season 86, winning the title in a hard-fought three-game series.
“Enough motivation para sa amin ito pero siyempre, hindi pa naman tapos yung season. Thankful lang kami na binigay sa amin yung panalo na ito,” said third-year Bullpups head coach Kevin De Castro.
More importantly, with their ninth win, the Bullpups secured at least a playoff for a Final Four spot.
With reigning Most Valuable Player Collins Akowe leading the way on both ends of the floor, the league leaders stormed to a 10-0 start before building a commanding 42-20 lead by halftime.
Determined to make a statement against their former tormentors, NUNS continued to push the pace in the third quarter. Akowe, along with Chad Cartel, Macmac Alfanta, and Kurl Figueroa, helped stretch the lead to a game-high 30 points, 60-30, early in the final frame.
“Sabi ko sa kanila before this game na kung ano yung kailangan i-improve, gawin natin. Last game, we had 27 turnovers, then today 21 lang. Marami pa rin, and we have to improve on that,” De Castro added.
Akowe dominated with a monstrous 28-point, 22-rebound double-double in just 31 minutes of action.
Alfanta chipped in 15 points, while Jid Locsin contributed 10 points, four rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Migs Palanca also posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The loss dropped Adamson to 4-5, putting it in a tie for fourth with University of the East and De La Salle-Zobel.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Charles Bucsit delivered in the clutch, sinking a fastbreak layup as time expired to lift University of Santo Tomas to a thrilling 73-71 victory over UE to remain in second place.
On the other hand, De La Salle-Zobel ended a four-game skid with a 73-62 win over University of the Philippines Integrated School.
With the game tied at 70-all, Cebuano guard Lance Sabroso attempted to take matters into his own hands for the Junior Warriors but missed his layup badly.
Racine Kane secured the rebound and quickly threw a bounce pass to Bucsit, who sprinted down the floor.
Calm and composed, the 19-year-old winger from Santa Rosa, Laguna, finished the fastbreak with a layup just as the buzzer sounded, sealing UST’s eighth consecutive victory.
“Yung pagpasa sa akin ni Racine, nakita ko na four seconds pa. Eh, sini-simulate din namin ‘to sa practice. Hindi ko sinasabi na sinakto ko pero kasi if napaaga ko yung tira, kaya pa nila mag-timeout,” shared Bucsit, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds.
UST had to claw its way back after trailing 59-50 late in the third quarter.
Kane tied the game at 66-all with 4:57 remaining before Bucsit scored four straight points to put the Tiger Cubs ahead by four.
Louie Bual, however, came up clutch for UE, sinking two crucial free throws with 54.2 seconds left to knot the score at 71-all — setting the stage for Bucsit’s game-winner.
“Malaking bagay sa amin yung ganitong games. Malaking bagay yung experience na ‘to na pagdating ng Final Four para hindi kami maninibago kapag dikdikan yung laro,” said second-year Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Inigo.
Kane led UST with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Senegalese forward currently ranks second in the Best Foreign Student-Athlete race after the first round.
Wacky Ludovice and Koji Buenaflor chipped in 12 points each, with the 6-foot-7 Buenaflor also grabbing nine rebounds.
“Much-needed win coming after a four-game losing streak. It keeps our Final Four hopes alive. It’s a big win. It’s a team that we should be able to beat if we want to be in the Final Four. Mentally and standing-wise, this win is important for us,” said long-time Junior Archers head coach Boris Aldeguer.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Surprisingly trailing 36-35 at halftime against the upset-seeking Maroons, the Junior Archers flipped the script in the third quarter, outscoring UPIS 22-7 to take control of the game.
“UP likes to run-and-gun. We got carried away playing their style. So in the second half, we played deliberate offense, and our defense stepped up,” Aldeguer explained.
Bonn Daja, a 17-year-old big man from Davao, led La Salle-Zobel with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, ace winger Kieffer Alas nearly recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In another match, FEU-Diliman bounced back from a two-game losing streak with a dominant 75-44 victory over Ateneo to hold onto solo third place.
A slow start saw the Baby Tamaraws leading just 35-30 at halftime. Then they turned up the intensity with an 18-6 third-quarter surge to build a commanding 53-36 lead.
FEU-D eventually led by as much as 35 points, 73-38, late in the contest.
“Siyempre, na-discuss namin sa practice yung last two games namin. Ang mindset namin is everyday at every game, nag-iimprove kami. Ang sabi ko lang is depensa is our bread and butter at susunod dun ang opensa,” said Baby Tamaraws head coach Denok Miranda, who also serves as FEU’s head of basketball operations.
“Nag-respond sila sa halftime ‘magic’ ko. Ready naman sila sa challenge at pinrove nila ang caliber nila as a player.”
Mico Pascual and Khean Esperanza led the balanced attack for FEU-D with 11 points each, with Pascual also hauling in seven rebounds.
MVP frontrunner Cabs Cabonillas filled the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks, while Sam Hall added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with nine rebounds.
For UE, utility forward Ethan Aguas paced the Junior Warriors with 17 points and five rebounds. Topeng Lagat contributed 13 points, while Edry Alejandro recorded a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Mark Esperanza — the league leader in minutes played — logged 37 minutes and tallied 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists for Adamson. Earl Medina, second in the league in minutes, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes.
Ateneo, which dropped to 1-8, had only one player in double figures—Chris Urbina, who scored 15 points. Jay-M Leal was limited to five points and eight rebounds.
UPIS, meanwhile, dropped to 0-9, pushing them to the brink of elimination.
Bruce Tubongbanua led the Maroons with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while lead guard Ethan Egea added 15 points and 10 boards.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In the girls’ game, UST remained unbeaten, delivering a dominant 170-46 victory over Ateneo.
It was a record-breaking performance for the Junior Tigresses, setting new marks for both points scored and winning margin in UAAP girls’ basketball history.
UST’s 170-point explosion shattered the previous record of 121 points set by Adamson against Ateneo on January 11, 2020. Meanwhile, their 124-point winning margin surpassed the 99-point blowout (115-16) that De La Salle-Zobel recorded against Ateneo just a week ago.
All 16 players fielded by head coach Sen Dysangco contributed to the scoreboard, with Grachelle Boteros leading the charge with 25 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Barby Dajao, currently second in the MVP race after the first round, made the most of her nine minutes on the court. She tallied 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Rhiane Perez also delivered an efficient performance, scoring 20 points in just eight minutes.
More than the numbers, Dysangco was pleased to see his players making the most of their opportunities on the court.
“We really do not focus on the wins. Ang ginagawa namin sa program namin sa UST is improving ourselves every day, hindi lang sa skills kung hindi din sa character. Every day, we ask: ‘Are we better today as a person and as a basketball player than yesterday?’” said Dysangco, who has led UST to a perfect 4-0 record.
“As we all know, high school kids pa lang ‘to, that is why we are not focused on winning. Para ito sa pagtanda nila, madadala nila yung strong character.”
Despite the lopsided scoreline, Ateneo continued to fight, a display of resilience that Dysangco — who also serves as one of the directors in the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League — deeply appreciated.
“I cannot express how proud I am to see yung players ng Ateneo and La Salle. It takes a lot of courage to go out there knowing na nag-start pa lang yung program. It’s really, really tough. Ako, I’m going through it with my other team,” he said.
He credited the players, saying, “Saludo talaga ako for the kids who go out there and represent their school. Hindi nila iniisip yung score.”
Dysangco emphasized the importance of having this tournament, especially after the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“It’s crucial and critical for programs like these to have this tournament. Nag-pandemic kasi e. We had this tournament before tapos nag-pandemic. Sana ituloy-tuloy lang nila at huwag mawalan ng loob,” he pointed out.
“These are birth pains that we have to go through as a coach and heads of institutions. Huwag natin sukuan yung ating mga girls and let’s support them.”
Tyler Timplo led the still-winless Ateneo with 14 points, while Virlene Gozum added 10.
The Scores:
First Game (Girls)
UST 170 – Boteros 25, Dajao 21, Perez 20, Onate 14, Tambawan 11, Floreindo 11, Insoy 10, Abrantes 10, Arciaga 9, Petalcorin 8, Anonuevo 8, Pinuela 7, Banate 5, Villarin 4, Wenceslao 4, Pesquera 3.
Ateneo 46 – Templo 14, Gozum 10, Exconde 8, Bacayo 4, Lo 4, Cacanindin 2, Linaza 2, Bernardo 2, Lee 0.
Quarterscores: 45-6, 87-14, 131-26, 170-46.
Second Game (Boys)
NUNS 71 – Akowe 28, Alfanta 15, Loscin 10, Palanca 10, Figueroa 4, Matias 2, Pillado 2, Cartel 0, Natinga 0, Usop 0, Solomon 0, Nepacena 0, Napa 0, Casala 0, Bouzina 0.
ADU 49 – Esperanza 18, Medina 15, Sajili 6, Perez 4, Umali 3, Tumaneng 2, Abayon 1, Murillo 0, De Jesus 0, Penafiel 0.
Quarterscores: 20-14, 37-23, 60-33, 71-49.
Third Game (Boys)
DLSZ 73 – Daja 23, Alas 17, Gubat 9, Espinosa 7, Dabao 6, Atienza 5, Arejola 2, Favis 2, Borrero 2, Reguera 0, Mben 0, Lopez 0.
UPIS 62 – Tubongbanua 16, Egea 15, Hallare 12, Gomez de Liano 9, Melicor 8, Uvero 2, Poquiz 0, Coronel 0.
Quarterscores: 23-17, 35-36, 57-43, 73-62.
Fourth Game (Boys)
FEU-D 75 – Pascual 11, Esperanza 11, Cabonilas 10 Hall 10, Salangsang 10, Godoy 9, Burgos 6, Gemao 4, Raneses 2, Gutierrez 2, Castillejos 0, Cagurungan 0, Dagcutan 0, Santos 0, Maierhofer 0, De Guzman 0.
Ateneo 44 – Urbina 15, Tan 7, Delos Santos 6, Leal 5, Kallos 3, Gatmaitan 2, Asistio 2, Lagdamen 0, Reyes 0, Trinidad 0.
Quarterscores: 17-14, 35-30, 53-36, 75-44.
Fifth Game (Boys)
UST 73 – Kane 19, Bucsit 16, Ludovice 12, Buenaflor 12, Canete 6, Manding 4, Acido 2, Solon 2, Esteban 0.
UE 71 – Aguas 17, Lagat 13, Alejandro 10, Sabroso 10, Lorenzo 4, Bual 4, Bana 4, Diaz 4, Timbol 0, Cuevas 0, Almanza 0, Farochilen 0.
Quarterscores: 17-19, 41-41, 54-59, 73-71.
