Bulldogs halt Tigers; Falcons rip Warriors

MANILA, Philippines - National U squandered a 12-point lead but held on to a 71-67 win over erstwhile unbeaten Santo Tomas to create a heavy logjam for second spot in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

The triumph – NU’s second in three outings – put the Bulldogs into a share of second with UST, idle La Salle, and Adamson, which defeated University of the East in the first game, 78-71.

Far Eastern U, the lone unbeaten team in the field, remains on top with 3-0.  

The Bulldogs held a 54-42 margin late in the third period and maintained a nine-point spread going to the last 7:06 before the Tigers made a searing run in a foul-riddled endgame that was more or less decided on the freethrow line.

Troy Rosario cashed in on his two charities to give NU a 70-64 cushion with 6.2 seconds left. The Tigers, on their end, missed nine of their 21 foul shots in the payoff period that eventually sealed their doom.

Jeric Teng’s absence the entire second half due to a shoulder injury he suffered after getting pushed hard from behind by Joeff Javillonar also stymied UST’s bid.

“We knew coming to the game that we’ll have a hard time against UST because they never give up until the very end. And I keep telling the boys to keep their composure, especially in the endgame. I think that’s something we have to correct, protecting the lead and being composed. The lack of it showed again today, it’s a good thing we’re able to pull through,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

He cited their rebounding as a key factor against the Tigers, whom they beat off the boards, 46-45.

“We did a good job in rebounding. One of the reasons we lost to UE the last time was we’re outrebounded. Today we were able to compete,” he said.

Bobby Ray Parks Jr. rifled in 20 points plus six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks as Emmanuel Mbe added 17 markers and 11 boards in outmuscling Karim Abdul, who had six points and 12 rebounds.

Kevin Ferrer paced the Tigers with 20 markers, in addition to hounding Parks. Teng left after 17 minutes and finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

“Teng’s absence in the second half was big. We were really preparing for him so we had to adjust our gameplan when he left,” said Altamirano.

Earlier, Adamson stormed to a 30-point lead then survived a horrific endgame meltdown to escape with a 78-71 triumph over University of the East and improve to 2-1.

The Warriors dropped to 1-2.

The Falcons, behind the early 19 points off five triples of Roider Cabrera, ripped the game apart in the first half and took a seemingly unassailable 55-25 lead on a post move by Ingrid Sewa at the 7:33 of the third period.

But like in their previous losing game to UST, the Falcons sputtered in the final period, enabling the Warriors to threaten to within seven. Time, however, sided this time with AdU, whose coach Leo Austria gladly took the win.

“If not for that 30-point lead, I think this win would have slipped away from us again,” said Austria, the memory of their bungled margins in a 62-67 loss to the Tigers last weekend still fresh on their minds.

“But we wouldn’t have had that 30-point lead if not for the players who really worked hard in the next days after our (losing) game against UST,” added Austria.

Cabrera’s sniping from the outside sparked AdU’s breakaway from a 12-11 contest as they grabbed a 50-25 lead at the turn.

“Our suffocating defense on UE’s one-on-one and transition plays helped us break away in the first half,” said Austria.

UE star Roi Sumang, however, proved unstoppable, especially in the second half where he scored 18 of his game-high 26 points. Sumang, whom Austria tagged as the league’s top point guard, nearly single-handedly brought the Warriors back in the game.

Cabrera finished with 19 points for AdU while Sewa turned in a double-double (15 points, 11 boards), in an interesting match-up with UE’s Charles Mammie (nine markers, 14 boards).