Archers gone to the ’Dogs

National University scored a stunning victory over La Salle, hacking out a thrilling 84-81 win that further bolstered its bid for a first-ever stint in the UAAP Final Four at the Ateneo gym yesterday.

The Bulldogs built huge cushion in the third quarter and withstood a fiery chase by the Archers at endgame, preserving the victory and, thus, ending a 31-game losing streak versus the Taft-based squad in their league matchups.

Beating La Salle for the first time since the Archers’ entry to the league in 1986, National U, in the process, enhanced its Final Four bid as it boosted its stock at third place with a 7-4 win-loss record.

Jeff Napa made up for two crucial missed free throws with a steal and a basket in the closing seconds to clinch the big win.

"Binawi lang namin something we lost in the first round. The boys really wanted this game," said coach Manny Dandan, whose Bulldogs dropped what had looked like a won ballgame over the Archers in their first-round encounter.

For a while, it appeared NU would suffer the same fate last night as it squandered a 71-58 lead, allowing La Salle to come within a point at 82-81.

BJ Manalo quickly fouled Napa in the ensuing play, sending the NU forward to the stripe with 4.1 seconds to play. Napa did succumb to pressure as he muffed both charities, but he himself foiled La Salle’s attempt to clinch the game by intercepting a pass by Mark Cardona to Carlo Sharma.

James Yap sizzled with 14 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and University of the East broke loose from a tight ballgame, pulling off a 97-77 triumph over winless Adamson to further improve its own semifinal bid earlier.

The Warriors picked up their game in the payoff period with Yap finding his range, thus the team stayed inside the Magic Four with a 6-5 win-loss mark. The Falcons took their 11th straight loss this year and 31st in all dating back to the second round of the 1999 campaign.

"We played bad at the start but we made up for it with heads-up plays in the homestretch," said UE assistant coach Jalma Arnedo, who called the shots for the team with head coach David Zamar serving a game suspension. Incidentally, Adamson coach Luigi Trillo also missed the game because of suspension.