Shaun Lucido caught fire from beyond the arc at the perfect moment as National University Nazareth School exacted revenge against Ateneo de Manila University, 81-78, to climb to a share of second place in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Trailing by three at 74-71 with 1:55 left, Lucido — who had missed his first four three-point attempts — sank two consecutive triples that propelled the Bullpups to a 77-74 lead with less than a minute remaining, effectively completing NUNS’ comeback from a lopsided 63-86 first-round loss to the Blue Eagles last January 22.
It was a day of comebacks, as co-captain Charles Esteban and Nigerian center Ola Ajani rallied defending champion University of Santo Tomas in the clutch to stun the University of the East, 60-57, marking a strong return to the win column.
With the results, NUNS and Ateneo are now tied at second in the standings with identical 6-2 records, while UST tied UE for sixth place with 3-5 slates.
Far Eastern University-Diliman, which ended the first round with a 6-1 slate, is currently facing De La Salle-Zobel as of publishing.
“Alam ko struggling siya ‘eh — 0-of-4 sa three-points — sabi ko lang sa kanya, itira niya lang, papasok din yan. Timely baskets, back-to-back three-points, ‘yon yung nagdala sa game namin — yung tapang niya,” Bullpups head coach Kevin de Castro said.
“Shaun is Shaun ‘eh, given na ‘yon. Siya talaga yung primary guy namin sa offense, pero kailangan niya matutunan dumepensa,” he added.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The Blue Eagles had stayed in control earlier as two Ziv Espina layups and a Renzo Gatmaitan triple built a 73-66 lead with 5:55 left. But the Bullpups, behind a Mot Matias layup and a Chad Cartel triple, cut the deficit to 73-71 with 3:46 remaining.
With Noah Banal making only one of his three free throws, Lucido seized the moment, hitting back-to-back triples that gave NUNS a crucial 77-74 lead with 46.7 seconds left.
From there, the Bullpups played the foul game, with Matias, Lucido, and Corian Cabantog each converting a free throw to seal the final score and NUNS’ sixth win in eight games.
Lucido led NUNS with 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, while Malian center Moussa Diakite contributed a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus one steal. Cartel added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Kurl Figueroa chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Matias nearly posted a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
For Ateneo, Ziv Espina paced the team with 18 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, and one block, while Unri Madrangca scored 18 points on six triples, adding three steals, one block, and one rebound. Banal finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while Nigerian center Jude Eriobu posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds with five blocks.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the earlier game, the Junior Warriors appeared poised to dominate the Tiger Cubs, as two triples from Jamal Diaz gave UE a nine-point, 54-45 lead with 6:30 remaining. But UST showed its championship poise in the clutch.
Esteban scored four points before Jetlee Melano made back-to-back layups, and team captain Kirk Canete converted a triple to pull the Tiger Cubs within 57-56 with 78 seconds left.
Esteban’s heroics continued, as he made another layup and forced a turnover on UE’s Ethan Aguas with 31.9 seconds left, setting up Ajani for a dagger floater that extended UST’s lead to 60-57 with 9.5 seconds remaining.
The Junior Warriors had a chance to force overtime, closing the game with a 15-3 run, but Aguas and Mhico Abellar missed separate attempts for the game-tying triple. The victory boosted UST’s Final Four hopes.
“Very satisfied ako na nakuha namin yung panalo, and nag-step up si Ola and si Charles, kasi sabi ko nga, missing link talaga sila doon sa veterans ko nung first round. Sa second round, good start pinakita nila kaagad na kailangan nila tumulong at kaya nila tumulong,” Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Iñigo said.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Ajani finished with a dominant double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds, plus one steal and one block, while Esteban had 11 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one block. Simon Pulongbarit added 10 points, four rebounds, and one steal, and Melano contributed nine points, three steals, two rebounds, and one block. Canete ended with six points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
For UE, Diaz was the only double-digit scorer with 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Abellar finished with eight points, two rebounds, and one assist. Aguas was limited to six points on 2-of-7 shooting with nine rebounds, while Sizco Roquid was held scoreless on four attempts but added eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
The Scores:
First Game:
UST (60) – Ajani 13, Esteban 11, Pulongbarit 10, Melano 9, Canete 6, Canapi 5, Ludovice 3, Bathan 3, Sta. Maria 0, Lapastora 0, Vidanes 0, Candare 0, Bohol 0.
UE (57) – Diaz 14, Abellar 8, Timbol 7, Aguas 6, Pascual 6, Edoukou 5, Lorenzo 5, Braga 4, Bual 2, Roquid 0, Delos Reyes 0, Oraa 0.
Quarterscores: 12-22, 27-31, 43-48, 60-57.
Second Game:
NUNS (81) – Lucido 23, Diakite 16, Cartel 12, Figueroa 10, M. Matias 9, Cabantog 6, Bouzina 3, Juan 2, R. Matias 0, Natinga 0.
Ateneo (78) – Espinas 18, Madrangca 18, Banal 15, Eriobu 13, Leal 9, Gatmaitan 3,Kallos 2, Kaw 0, Lacsamana 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 45-47, 62-66, 81-78.
