Bulldogs trip Warriors, fan Final 4 bid

MANILA, Philippines - National University overcame a lackluster game and the absence of center Emmanuel Mbe to hammer out an 83-74 win over University of the East and stay in the Final Four hunt in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena yesterday.

Bobby Ray Parks Jr. fired 21 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished off eight assists while Henri Betayene filled in for injured Mbe (hip) with an 11-point, 12-rebound, two-block effort as the Bulldogs improved to 6-4, staying just behind No. 4 La Salle (6-3).

“We didn’t play well today, we struggled and the game came down to the last few minutes. Our energy level was very low and good thing, Ray (Parks) and other players stepped up,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano, whose wards got back on track after squandering a 17-point lead in a bitter 57-58 overtime loss to UST over the weekend.

Betayene, Parks and Jeoff Javillonar led a 9-4 windup to secure the win that revived NU’s quest for the Final Four while ousting the Warriors (1-8) from the playoffs.

“From now on, all our games are important but we want to run our own race. We know our goals, we focus on them. At this point, we just want to run a race, we don’t want to think about standings of the other teams or how they’ll play other teams,” said Altamirano.

Chris Javier (19) and Roi Sumang (17) led five players in double figures for UE, which missed the F4 for the third straight year.

In the second game, Adamson snapped a six-game skid with a 75-70 victory over University of the Philippines. 

The Falcons (2-8) moved to sixth spot and dealt the Maroons their eighth setback in nine outings.

Meanwhile, commissioner Ato Badolato slapped Ateneo’s JP Erram with an unsportsmanlike foul (with intention to hurt) for an action against FEU’s Carl Bryan Cruz that escaped on-court sanction during the rugged game between Ateneo and Far Eastern last Wednesday.

The scores:

First Game:

NU 83 – Parks 21, Javillonar 11, Betayene 11, Alolino 10, Rono 9, Neypes 8, De Guzman 7, Villamor 6, Singh 0, Rosario 0, Labing-isa 0, Khobuntin 0.

UE 74 – Javier 19, Sumang 17, Sumido 15, Belleza 11, Santos 10, Olayon 2, Villarias 0, Valdez 0, Hernandez 0, Galanza 0, Flores 0, Duran 0.

Quarterscores: 16-14, 37-35, 58-47, 83-74

Second Game:

AdU 75 – Camson 19, Cruz 17, Brondial 15, Rios 10, Cabrera 4, Agustin 4, Monteclaro 3, Etrone 3, Trollano 0, Olalia 0, Julkipli 0, Abrigo 0.

UP 70 – Padilla 12, Manuel 12, Lopez 10, Ball 9, Silungan 8, Soyud 6, Montecastro 5, Asilum 4, Gallarza 3, Romero 1, Mbah 0, Hipolito 0, Gamboa 0.

Quarterscores: 25-17, 35-31, 51-44, 75-70.