Rosario foils Ruaya’s game-winning attempt as NU escapes Letran

MANILA, Philippines – Jet Rosario came up with  a defensive gem, blocking a potential game-winner from Ford Ruaya as National University escaped with a 69-67 victory over Letran College in the quarterfinal round of the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan city Wednesday.

Alfred Aroga was at the right place at the right time when he converted and finished a crucial three-point play to give the lead to NU, 68-67, with 24.5 seconds left.

Letran’s Rey Nambatac missed a triple after a stingy defense from the Bulldogs, and Gelo Alolino split his charities at the 4.6 mark to set up the final play.

Ruaya had the chance to steal the game with only 1.9 ticks remaining when he threw out a desperation triple off an inbound play. But Rosario was in his face the whole to time, sealing the win for the Bulldogs.

"We didn't play our best. We were a bit off and started slow but I liked the poise of our boys in the end," said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

"I’m happy that they were able to deliver in the most important part of the game," he added.

Reigning UAAP MVP Ray Parks paced the Bulldogs with 16 points while Gelo Alolino and Rosario chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Altamirano believes the Bulldogs are on track in their preparation for the upcoming UAAP wars.

"Physically, we are ready already. We just have to prepare mentally but I'm happy that we are now finally complete and the whole team can jell," he said.

Mark Cruz paced the Knights with 16 markers while Nambatac and Raymond Almazan registered 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Intramuros-based squad.

With NU seemingly in control of the game and poised to romp away in the game, Letran closed the third canto with a blazing 12-2 blast to take a 58-56 lead entering the last quarter.

After a mostly nip-and-tuck affair in the first half, NU capped the second quarter with a 15-3 run to take a 43-37 upperhand at the break.

NU will face the winner of the DLSU-SBC matchup, which is ongoing as of posting time.