Bulldogs repel Archers to regain solo lead

Jake Figueroa, NU’s captain and scoring leader, was steady anew with 18 points on a stellar 7-of-10 clip to go along eight rebounds and two steals.

UAAP Media Bureau

Games on Wednesday

(Mall of Asia Arena)

8 A.M. – DLSZ vs UE (16U)

10 A.M. – UST vs FEU-D (16U)

1 P.M. – DLSU vs UE (Women)

3 P.M. – DLSU vs UE (Men)

5 P.M. – UST vs FEU (Men)

7 P.M. – UST vs FEU (Women)

MANILA, Philippines — National University wore down La Salle in the clutch, 82-78, and regained hold of the pole position in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Sampaloc, Manila.

The Bulldogs uncorked a 27-17 rally in the fourth to take command but needed one last stand to repel the Green Archers' comeback attempt sans ace forward Mason Amos, who went down with a suspected knee injury, to notch their second straight win since absorbing their lone scar so far against the title holder UP.

NU jacked up its slate to 5-1, breaking a tie with University of Santo Tomas (4-1), which just handed Ateneo (4-2) its second straight defeat via triple overtime on Saturday in the race among surprise leaders at the tail end of the first round. UP (3-2) and La Salle (2-3), the finalists in the last two seasons, are in catch-up mode after flat starts in the UAAP's new order.

It's a tale of night and day for NU, which bled for only five wins last season owing to an All-Filipino squad following the injury of foreign student-athlete Mo Diassana from Mali in the first game. With Omar John, the Bulldogs already tallied the same number of wins in the first around alone with a chance to surpass it against Ateneo to end the round.

"The boys really wanted it even sa practice pa lang. They're so focused, and at the same time relaxed kung anong gusto nilang gawin. We know that when we entered the game, alam na nila kung anong gagawin nila," said assistant Vic Ycasiano as head coach Jeff Napa had to rush to the Ynares Sports Center i. Antipolo for the PBA game of Terrafirma, where he also serves as one of Ronald Tubid's assistants.

Jake Figueroa, the team's captain and scoring leader, was steady anew with 18 points on a stellar 7-of-10 clip to go along eight rebounds and two steals. But it was PJ Palacielo who wreaked the heaviest damage on the Green Archers by firing 10 of his 16 points in the fourth period.

Palacielo capped his payoff period assault with a short heave on bruising defender Mike Phillips to make it a 76-70 cushion for the Bulldogs, who banked on a freethrow shooting spree to thwart the Archers' uprising behind the three-point barrages of Kean Baclaan and Jacob Cortez.

Paul Francisco and Gelo Santiago contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Reinhard Jumamoy scored all of his eight points in the fourth quarter but none bigger than his defensive stand when he stripped Phillips off a rebound to preserve NU's 77-75 lead in the waning seconds.

From a 70-76 deficit inside the last two minutes, Cortez willed La Salle back to the game with four straight points paired with EJ Gollena's freebie to strike within one point that led the way for a fouling game in the last 17 seconds.

La Salle had a chance to even tie the game or steal it on a game-winning triple with a Phillips rebound after Jake Figueroa split his charities only for Jumamoy to slam that door with a crucial steal.

Francisco pretty much iced the deal with two free throws as Kean Baclaan's last heave trey for a 79-78 count hardly mattered with only two seconds left. Jumamoy and John took care of their freebies for the final score.

Phillips and Cortez churned out 15 points each while Baclaan chalked up 11 for the Green Archers, who absorbed a double whammy with their second straight defeat coupled with Amos' right knee injury.

According to head coach Topex Robinson, Amos, who was already brought to the Makati Medical Center, heard a pop on his right knee after a wild scramble early in the fourth quarter. He will undergo MRI, and his test result is expected to be out as soon as possible.

In women's basketball, Tin Cayabyab (18), Marga Villanueva (15) and Angel Surada (14) connived as NU tied Ateneo for second place at 4-1 with an 86-68 win over La Salle (0-4)

The scores:

NU 82 – Figueroa 18, Palacielo 16, Francisco 13, Santiago 12, Jumamoy 8, Parks 6, Garcia 4, John 3, Manansala 2, Enriquez 0, Padrones 0, Dela Cruz 0, Navarro 0, Reyes 0.

La Salle 78 – Phillips 15, Cortez 15, Baclaan 11, Pablo 8, Amos 7, Gollena 6, Macalalag 5, Abadam 4, Daep 3, Dungo 2, Nwankwo 2, Melencio 0, Marasigan 0.

Quarterscores: 21-23, 40-40, 55-61, 82-78.