New-look Bulldogs maul Tigers; Lions rebound

MANILA, Philippines - The souped-up National University Bulldogs outlasted opening day winner University of Santo Tomas, 60-52, in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Pre-Season Premier Cup at the Arena yesterday.

The Bulldogs, bannered mostly by new recruits and young guns, held the Tigers scoreless in the last 2:30 to join idle Ateneo atop Group A with 1-0.

The Tigers, also parading a souped-up crew, dropped to 1-1 in a tie with San Beda, which pulled off its first win at the expense of Arellano, 88-74.

“We’re still a work in progress,” said NU’s new coach Eric Altamirano. “But I like what I see they have great chemistry. Hopefully we can continue this as I know we’re in a tough bracket here.”

Bobby Ray Parks, NU’s prized recruit, showed a glimpse of what he can do for the school raring to rise out of the doghouse. The son of former PBA Best Import Bobby Sr. fired 17 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, one steal and three assists in 30 minutes.

“He’s still young and he’s still trying to learn the Filipino type of game. But one thing good about him is that he’s got a great attitude. We look up to him as one of the leaders of our team. Although he’s still young, there’s a responsibility on his shoulders,” Altamirano added.

Marion Magat and Denice Villamor backstopped Parks with 8 and 7, respectively, as NU survived the absence of Emmanuel Mbe, who’s on leave the entire month to attend to personal matters.

Cameroonian rookie Karim Abdul posted a double-double of 13 markers and 23 big rebounds for UST, which debuted last Saturday with a 79-70 win over La Salle.

Meanwhile, the Lions rebounded from their 87-90 setback to UAAP king Ateneo also last Saturday, beating Arellano, 88-74.

San Beda’s Ola Adeogun ably filled in for the injured Sudan Daniel, pumping in 21 markers and grabbing 16 rebounds as he joined hands with Rome dela Rosa and Garvo Lanete (15 points apiece) in beating an improved AU Chiefs and handing SBC its first win.

“Arellano improved a lot compared to last year, especially with their foreign guy,” San Beda coach Frankie Lim said, referring to Charles Mammie, who had six points, eight boards and six assists. “Good thing is, we have somebody to match up with him; Dave played great defense on him and finally my wing guys delivered.”

The Lions seized control by detonating a 9-0 bomb in the second period en route to a 40-32 lead that they stretched to as many as 18, at 81-63, on a drive by dela Rosa.

There was a tense moment when SBC’s Dave Semerad and AU’s Gerald Lapuz engaged in a shoving match, leading to their ejection from the game.

Kevin Alas fired 23 points as the Letran Knights tripped Emilio Aguinaldo College, 66-54, in the other seniors game.