NATIONAL University Nazareth School secured its 12th consecutive Final Four stint, while Adamson University assured itself of a playoff for a twice-to-beat slot in the UAAP Season 86 high school boys basketball tournament Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Nigerian big man Collins Akowe produced a 20-point, 20-rebound game as the Bullpups came through with a 70-61 win over De La Salle-Zobel.
The Baby Falcons repulsed several Ateneo uprisings in the second half to score a wire-to-wire 87-74 victory.
Macmac Alfanta chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists for NUNS, which improved to 9-2.
Adamson, meanwhile, remained on top with its 10th win in 11 games.
JR Abayon took the scoring mantle for the Baby Falcons with 17 points while Mark Esperanza and Vince Reyes chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
“Proud naman kami sa na-achieve namin. Yung task at hand, iyon ang pine-prepare namin,” said Adamson coach Mike Fermin.
“I’m proud of my boys. Sabi ko nga, Ateneo will not give up easily, kita mo dumidikit di ba. Yung maturity nila nandoon na, pero konti pa,” he added.
Justine Garcia, who is still not yet 100 percent from an ankle injury he sustained in the second round opener, was the other Baby Falcon in double digits with 10 points and dished out six assists.
Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas pulled away in the second half to overpower UP Integrated School, 93-64, and move closer to claiming one of the two remaining Final Four berths.
Defending champion Far Eastern University-Diliman went through the wringer before beating University of the East, 66-62.
The Baby Tamaraws moved up to 6-5, two games ahead of the Junior Warriors and the Blue Eagles, who remained tied in fifth place at 4-7.
After trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half, the Tiger Cubs outscored the Junior Maroons, 56-27, in the last two periods to raise their record to 7-4.
“Ang sabi ko lang sa mga bata to play the right way, huwag kalimutan ang game plan. Noong umpisa, nakikipag-shootout sila. Noong halftime, ni-remind ko sila na kailangang mag-stick sa ipinraktis namin,” said UST coach Manu Iñigo.
Kieffer Alas still led the Junior Archers with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting while Waki Espina had a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The loss, the eighth in 11 games, pushed La Salle-Zobel to the brink of elimination.
EJ Herbito paced FEU with 16 points built around four triples while Cabs Cabonillas had a double-double outing of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UE had a chance to tie at 65-65 and send the game to overtime but Mark Sarza missed a wide-open triple in the dwindling seconds.
Fouled by John Edry Alejandro, Jedric Daa hit a free throw in the final 0.5 seconds to seal the Baby Tamaraws’ win.
Sam Reyes scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half that went along with six rebounds and two assists while Andrei Dungo and Koji Buenaflor each had 17 points for the Tiger Cubs.
A Grade 12 student, Reyes is repaying the trust given to him by Iñigo by stepping up his game in the second half.
“Nagtiwala lang po kami sa sistema,” Reyes said.
The Fighting Maroons, who stunned the Junior Warriors last Sunday that ended a 22-game losing skid, fell to 1-10.
The Scores:
First Game
NUNS (70) – Akowe 20, Alfanta 13, Cartel 9, Tagotongan 9, Nepacena 7, Pillado 5, Palanca 4, Usop 2, Yusi 1, Reroma 0, Solomon 0, Barraca 0.
DLSZ (61) – Alas 18, Espina 17, Dabao 14, Daja 5, Dimaano 5, Arboleda 2, Cruz 0, Atienza 0, Arejola 0, Domangcas 0, Favis 0, Sta. Maria 0, Lopez 0.
Quarterscores: 14-17, 38-34, 48-45, 70-61
Second Game
FEU-D (66) – Herbito 16, Pre 11, Cabonilas 10, Miranda 9, Daa 6, Miller 5, Burgos 4, Pascual 3, Godoy 2, Cabigting 0, Gordon 0, Mecha 0.
UE (62) – Sabroso 17, Lagat 13, Alejandro 12, Despi 6, Almanza 4, Sarza 3, De Leon 3, Datumalim 2, Farochilen 2, Dahino 0, Pedrita 0, Suria 0.
Quarterscores: 18-19, 37-37, 47-51, 66-62
Third Game
UST (93) – Reyes 21, Dungo 17, Buenaflor 17, Bucsit 10, Kaw 6, Velasquez 6, Ludovice 5, Esteban 5, Loreto 4, Ronquillo 2, Ferrer 0, Vidanes 0.
UPIS (64) – Melicor 23, Tubongbanua 17, Valdeavilla 13, Egea 11, Gomez de Liaño 0, Coronel 0, Hernandez 0, Uvero 0.
Quarterscores: 19-23, 37-37, 64-46, 93-64
Fourth Game
AdU (87) – Abayon 17, Esperanza 13, Reyes 12, Garcia 10, De Jesus 9, Bonzalida 8, Umali 6, Medina 5, Carillo 3, Perez 2, Artango 2, Tumeneng 0, Sajili 0.
Ateneo (74) – Porter 34, Espinas 12, Madrangca 11, Domangcas 5, Urbina 4, Lagdamen 4, Ebdane 2, Tan 2, Ong 0, Suico 0, Tupas 0, De Guzman 0.
Quarterscores: 22-10, 44-27, 65-50, 87-74
