NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Nazareth School secured the first semifinal ticket and took top seed in the UAAP Season 86 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Sunday, cruising past listless Ateneo High School, 97-74, at the Amoranto Arena in Quezon City.
The Bullpups, who defeated idle FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws 70-61 last Wednesday, raised their slate to 5-0, advancing to the knockout Final Four scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 27, at the same QC venue.
NUNS put on a clinic right from the get-go with the quartet of Shaun Lucido, Mot Matias, Denver Sison, and Chester Tulabut all having their way against Ateneo in the first 10 minutes of the game, eventually ending up with a 38-16 lead to end the opening stanza.
“Actually, marami pa yung kulang,” said Bullpups head coach Kevin De Castro, who steered the school’s under-19 squad to a silver finish a couple of months ago. “Madami pang lapses sa depensa.
“Sabi ko sa kanila, test ito sa kanila para makarating sa under-19 ranks. At least by now, nakikita na nila yung mga kailangan nila i-improve,” he added.
Lucido continued his tear for the Bullpups, dropping 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and two steals in just 24 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, University of the East and De La Salle-Zobel kept their final four hopes alive.
The Junior Warriors routed the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, 101-76, while the Junior Archers whipped the Adamson Baby Falcons, 91-41.
It was an impressive win for UE, which started its campaign 0-2 before finding its groove to take its third straight win and rise to a share of third with DLSZ.
“Right now, we are one step into the Final Four. We still have one game against NU. Pero positive lang because we won a lot against UST,” said Junior Warriors head coach Karl Santos as they face the Bullpups on Sunday, 1:00 p.m. at Nazareth School Gym.
“Right now, I’m happy because we expected to win this game because mataas ang expectations namin with this team. I think this is our best performance sa buong elimination round. Hopefully, we have a better performance come our next game,” he added.
Five Warriors scored in double-figures for UE, led by Mhico Abellar’s 19 points.
Big man Ethan Eguas and guard Mav Mesina got 17 apiece with the former also hauling down 12 rebounds.
Enrico Bungar and Sizco Roquid added 13 points each while Cebuano guard Louie Bual glued things together with 11 assists to go with seven points.
UST ended the elimination round with a 3-3 record and will await its fate.
The Junior Archers, on the other hand, snapped a two-game slide with the victory.
Melvin Tailan led the DLSZ rampage with 28 points built on five triples while Vince Magan added 20. Ken Atienza also provided the muscle with 14 points and nine rebounds.
It will be a complicated final day in the competition next week with DLSZ needing a win over second-running Far Eastern University-Diliman (4-1) to punch its ticket to the next round.
If DLSZ, UE, and UST end up in a three-way tie, the latter two have the quotient advantage.
Winless in five games played, Ateneo and Adamson are out of contention.
The Scores:
First Game:
NUNS 97 – Lucido 31, Celiz 13, Matias 11, Sison 9, Tulabut 7, Callueng 6, Vitug 4, Tacneng 4, Quinto 3, Enguio 3, Reroma 2, Mejia 2, Tolentino 2, Toring 0, Avila 0, Sundiang 0.
Ateneo 74 – Kallos 22, Aquino 14, Tan 12, Santos 8, Molina 6, Magpoc 4, Gatmaitan 3, Juangco 3, Lanot 2, Jazul 0, Ngo 0, Enrique 0, De Ocampo 0, Bautista 0.
Quarterscores: 38-16, 57-36, 74-54, 97-74.
Second Game:
UE 101 – Abellar 19, Aguas 17, Mesina 17, Bungar 13, Roquid 13, Bual 7, Dahino 7, Garcia 4, Oraa 4, Ferreros 0, Dalosa 0, Cadorna 0.
UST 76 – Cinco 25, Sy 17, Cabanero 12, Bohol 10, Knowles 4, Bathan 3, Castro 3, De Castro 2, Dela Cruz 0, Guerrero 0, Valenzona 0.
Quarterscores: 26-15, 47-29, 72-56, 101-76.
Third Game:
DLSZ 91 – Tailan 28, Magan 20, Atienza 14, Gubat 11, Dimayuga 5, Cruz 5, Echave 3, Almazan 2, Trillo 2, Tamayo 1, Reyes 0, Llamas 0, Callanta 0, Dalaten 0, Sy 0, Arabon 0.
ADU 41 – Bariacto 11, Borbon 9, Cruz 7, Liwanag 5, Urbina 4, Hall 3, Sambeli 2, Velasco 0, Pantia 0, Ching 0, Bautista 0, Santiago 0.
Quarterscores: 29-10, 43-22, 68-31, 91-41.
