National U wore down La Salle in the clutch, 82-78, and regained hold of pole position in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Bulldogs uncorked a 27-17 run in the fourth to seize command but needed one last stand to repel the Green Archers’ own comeback attempt sans ace forward Mason Amos, who went down with a suspected knee injury.
In notching a second straight win since absorbing their lone scar so far against the title holder UP Fighting Maroons, the Bulldogs jacked up their slate to 5-1, breaking a tie with the Santo Tomas Tigers who have just handed erstwhile unbeaten Ateneo (4-2) its second straight defeat via triple overtime on Saturday.
It’s a tale of night and day for NU, which bled for only five wins last season with foreign student-athlete Mo Diassana from Mali limited to one game due to an injury.
With Omar John, the Bulldogs have tallied the same number of wins in the first round alone with a chance to surpass it against Ateneo.
Later in the night, reigning champion UP fended off Far Eastern U, 69-66, to notch its fourth straight win after a 0-2 flat start.
Harold Alarcon (15), Gani Stevens (14) and Reyland Torres (12) led the Maroons to the key win ahead of their highly anticipated match with the La Salle Archers Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.