National University poured its wrath on the free-falling Ateneo, 66-50, to get back on track and retain the pole position in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in España.
The Bulldogs unleashed a telling 25-4 rally in the second half to seize command en route to avenging its close 78-74 defeat to title holder University of the Philippines for a 7-2 slate.
NU created enough separation from UP, UST Santo Tomas and La Salle in a logjam at No. 2 with identical 5-3 records as the race to the Top 2 – which comes with a win-once bonus in the Final Four – heats up in the second round.
‘Nag-respond sila doon sa nangyari sa amin against UP. Credit sa team ko, hindi na sa akin ‘yun, sila na yan eh. Sila na ‘yung gumawa ng paraan,’ said NU mentor Jeff Napa.
Skipper Jake Figueroa scored 17 points, including 11 in that game-changing rally, on top of his game-high 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block to beef up his MVP campaign after finishing fifth in the statistical race in the first round.
Jolo Manansala, Reinhard Jumamoy and Steve Nash Enriquez chipped in eight points each while PJ Palacielo had seven – all in the killer run – for the Bulldogs, who made it up for the ejection of Gelo Santiago in the third quarter after an elbow on Waki Espina’s head for disqualifying foul.
Tied at 30 at the turn, the hungry Blue Eagles pounced on the Bulldogs with a 10-2 run to take a 40-32 lead midway through the third before the latter turned the jets on with a bigger retaliation rom there.
NU limited Ateneo to four points until the last four minutes, running away with a sudden 57-44 gap for a more convincing win after a 71-66 overtime triumph in the first round.
Kymani Ladi was the lone bright spot for Ateneo, which absorbed its fifth straight loss to slide to 4-5 for the team’s worst skid under four-time champion Tab Baldwin after a perfect start.
In women’s basketball, reigning champion NU (7-1) drubbed Ateneo (5-3) without reinforcement Sarah Makanjoula due to a one-game suspension, 69-47, behind Angel Surada’s near triple-double of 22 points, 11 steals and nine rebounds.
The scores:
NU 66 – Figueroa 17, Enriquez 8, Jumamoy 8, Manansala 8, Palacielo 7, John 6, Francisco 5, Padrones 5, Dela Cruz 2, Garcia 0, Parks 0, Santiago 0, Tulabut 0.
Ateneo 50 – Ladi 12, Bongo 9, Escobar 6, Espinosa 5, Tuano 4, Lazaro 4, Espina 3, Fjellvang 3, Lazo 2, Bahay 2, Nieto 0, Gamber 0.
Quarterscores: 15-19, 30-30, 46-40, 66-50