National University ended the first round of the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament strong, racking up a a wire-to-wire 77-61 victory over University of the East, Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The result was NU’s second consecutive win after its loss to Ateneo de Manila University last Tuesday. The Bulldogs also routed University of Santo Tomas two days ago, 81-52.
With the result, NU closes the first round with a 4-3 record while UE is winless at 0-7.
“Good win for us,” said NU mentor Jeff Napa. “Siyempre madadala namin ito coming into the second round. We have to be ready coming into the second round kasi pabigag ng pabigat ang makakalaban namin.”
The Bulldogs enjoyed a hot start as a lay-up from Janjan Felicilda gave NU a 22-5 lead in the first period. This cushion was then stretched to as much as 38-13 courtesy of free throws from Jake Figueroa late in the second quarter.
Come the third quarter, things got so bad for UE that Orin Catacutan scored at his own basket at the 3:51 mark of the period to increase NU’s lead to 59-30. Shaun Ildefonso’s free throw gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 60-30 with 3:11 left to go in the third quarter.
Michael Malonzo led NU with 12 points and 10 rebounds followed by John Lloyd Clemente’s 12 points. John Galinato had nine points and five rebounds while Reyland Torres produced seven points and eight rebounds.
NU’s dominance in the paint helped it get the win today with 57 rebounds and 42 inside points compared to UE’s 37 rebounds and 28 inside points. The Red Warriors, though, got 24 second-chance points to NU’s 10.
“For me, lagi kong ine-emphasize na we don’t look backward eh,” added Napa. “We just move forward. We look forward. Just keep improving day in and day out para at least mga batang ito, coming into real battle, ready sila.”
Kyle Paranada led UE with 12 points, followed by Catacutan’s 11, and Jeremy Cruz’s 10.
Despite already serving his two-game suspension, Jack Santiago was still not on the sidelines for UE. UE is currently holding an internal investigation on the incident between Santiago and University of the Philippines’ Ricci Rivero last April 2, putting the head coach under temporary suspension until the school finds a conclusion.
The Scores:
NU 77 – Malonzo 12, Clemente 12, Galinato 9, Yu 8, Torres 7, Tibayan 7, Manansala 6, Enriquez 4, Minerva 4, Ildefonso 3, Joson 3, Felicilda 2, Figueroa 0, Flores 0, Mahinay 0.
UE 61 – Paranada K 12, Catacutan 11, Cruz 10, Pagsanjan 7, Escamis 6, Antiporda 5, Sawat 4, Tulabut 4, Guevarra 2, Abatayo 0, Paranada N 0, Beltran 0, Villanueva 0, Lorenzana 0.
Quarterscores: 22-9, 44-21, 68-39, 77-61.
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