Warriors hold off fancied Bulldogs; Eagles prevail

Games today (MOA Arena)

2 p.m. – UST vs UP

4 p.m. – DLSU vs FEU

MANILA, Philippines - University of the East continued the giant-killing trend in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tourney, thwarting defending champion National U, 76-71, yesterday at the MOA Arena.

Rookie Bon-bon Batiller fired 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter as the Warriors  seized a 14-point lead behind a 28-9 exchange and hung tough down the stretch to improve to 1-1. 

The Bulldogs suffered their second straight loss, the worst start since coach Eric Altamirano assumed reins in 2010.

Ateneo regained its confidence as it bounced back from its 24-point opening-game blowout with an 84-60 demolition of Adamson in the first game.

UE’s victory was the latest in a series of upsets in the new season, joining earlier reversals pulled off by co-leaders University of the Philippines and Santo Tomas over fancied La Salle and Far Eastern U, respectively, last Wednesday.

“I challenged the guys at halftime, tried to push them to show their worth and play to their potential and they responded. We had a great third quarter. We were hitting the big three-point shots, we tightened our defense, made NU throw the ball over and took advantage of it,” said UE mentor Derrick Pumaren, who scored his first win at the Pasay venue.

Batiller, a prized find from General Santos, hit four triples and joined forces with veteran Paul Varilla (11 points spiked by two treys) in spearheading the second-half assault. Edgar Charcos added 12 markers while RR de Leon helped contain NU behemoth Alfred Aroga to eight markers and 16 boards as he stepped up in the absence of suspended Chris Javier.

“The second half, especially the third quarter, was the real Warriors I’m looking for,” said Pumaren.

Gelo Alolino topscored for NU with 23. 

Kiefer Ravena rifled in 24 points and got much-needed support from Von Pessumal (12) and rookies Aaron Black (11), Matt Nieto (nine) and Jerie Pingoy (eight) as the Eagles got on track after absorbing a stinging 64-80 setback to Far Eastern last week.

“It’s really a good win for us, for our confidence, because whatever confidence we had before our first game, it was really shattered after our loss to FEU,” said coach AdMU coach Bo Perasol.

 With Black pumping in six, the Eagles took command in the third period and raced to a 62-48 spread, eventually extending the lead to as high as 26 at 80-54.

“Our performance in the second half was the way we envisioned our team to be in this season,” said Perasol, giving credit to the support crew for backstopping Ravena this time.