MANILA, Philippines - Bobby Ray Parks sizzled with 30 points to power National U to a 79-62 rout of University of the Philippines as the league-leading Bulldogs gained at least a playoff for a Final Four berth in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Parks fired from nearly all angles, shooting 9-of-13 from two-point area and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, in a searing effort laced with 10 rebounds and five assists that helped the Bulldogs notch their ninth win against three losses and move on the verge of a semis berth.
The Fighting Maroons suffered their 11th straight defeat, their third since changing coaches in the middle of the season.
“We talked about this game for the last three days and we said we didn’t want to take UP lightly. There’s a significance to this game in that we’ll be assured of at least as playoff berth for the Final Four (if we prevail),†said coach Eric Altamirano.
“That’s one step forward for us. But again, we still have two games remaining and we have to be ready for those two,†he added.
The Bulldogs are in an unfamiliar spot in the standings, having languished in the lower rungs for the longest time before a major rebuilding around Parks three years ago. They got the solo lead just last Sunday, when erstwhile pacesetter Far Eastern fell to 8-4, and yesterday they didn’t waste time proving their worth as the No.1 team.
La Salle later turned back University of the East in overtime, 75-65, to hike its record to 8-4 and catch idle Far Eastern at second spot.
Despite being thrown off guard by the last-minute re-entry of previously suspended Charles Mammie for UE, the Archers managed to make the necessary adjustments and pull off their fifth straight win.
“It was really difficult. We practiced for two days and the game plan coming into today’s game was based on personnel who we were expecting would be playing. Our defensive gameplan was focused on something else and then hours before, (with Mammie playing) we had to change our mindset,†said DLSU coach Juno Sauler.
Mammie was supposed to serve the remainder of his two-game suspension but UE made an 11th hour appeal and got a favorable response from the board, which reduced the suspension to one game, making the import eligible for yesterday’s game.
“I have to hand it to the players, they were able to adjust, given the amount of time we have to talk about it in the dugout, they were able to pull through,†Sauler added.
Jason Perkins and Jeron Teng led DLSU’s attack with 22 and 17, respectively, striking hardest in the clutch. Perkins hit a booming trey while Teng poured in nine markers to anchor in their overtime breakaway.
Mammie grabbed 20 rebounds to go with 11 points in his return to complement the 17 of Roi Sumang and JM Noble for UE, which dropped to their third straight setback and 5-6 overall.
“We humbly take that top position but again we have to continue working,†said Altamirano, whose wards also picked up their sixth consecutive win.
Parks, who had 17 points in the first half, posted his seventh 30-point performance in the UAAP, the most by any player over the last 10 years.
Emmanuel Mbe added 14 points and 13 rebounds for NU.
Raul Soyud had a double-double of 17-12 for UP as Joseph Marata shot 13.