Biting the best: NU earns 2nd straight win, stuns UST to blow UAAP Final Four race wide open
MANILA, Philippines – Better late than never, said the NU Bulldogs.
Once the bearer of multiple heartbreaking losses in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, the Jhocson-based ballers are now on a vengeful resurgence, earning a 67-62 stunner of fourth-ranked UST at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, November 6, for their second straight win.
Although still in a sixth-place tie with FEU at 4-8, the Bulldogs dealt a huge blow to the Growling Tigers’ Final Four pursuit, sending them down to a 5-7 card and blasting the door wide open for the rest of the eight-team league to realistically contend, even last-place Ateneo (3-8).
“No. 1, for those who believe we didn’t beat UP, here’s the follow-up,” NU head coach Jeff Napa said in Filipino, three days after the Bulldogs stunned the Final Four-bound Maroons by 20 points, 67-47.
“We didn’t get lucky against UP. UP wasn’t unlucky. We played the right way and now we beat UST. We played the right away again. It’s that simple.”
Jolo Manansala detonated for one of his best games yet in his NU stint with a team-high 18 points, hitting his first four threes before settling with a 4-of-5 clip from deep, plus 7 rebounds and 2 assists in just 23 minutes off the bench.
PJ Palacielo backstopped with 15 points, while top star Jake Figueroa followed up his all-around effort in the Bulldogs’ shocker of No. 2 UP with a 13-point, 11-board double-double to go with 4 assists and 1 steal.
The do-it-all forward showcased his do-it-all chops when his team needed them the most, as he followed up Manansala’s go-ahead triple at the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter, 59-58, with his own long swish from the corner, 62-58, with 4:51 left.
Figueroa then punctuated a huge 17-3 NU turnaround from a 47-55 deficit with a quick steal in the next possession for a booming two-handed jam and a 64-58 advantage with 4:37 remaining.
Shell-shocked, UST only managed a single field goal from then on — a Kyle Paranada triple at the 3:21 mark to get within 3, 61-64 — as Nic Cabanero and Christian Manaytay conspired for multiple horrendous point-blank misses in the final minute to essentially give the Bulldogs a free pass to the finish line.
Gelo Santiago then corralled a huge board off Cabanero’s final missed layup and calmly sank his free throws off the duty foul to set the final score at the 12.8-second mark.
Cabanero led all scorers with 19 points, but only shot 7-of-17 in his 33-minute run. Mo Tounkara churned out a big double-double of 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Paranada and Manaytay scored 8 apiece.
The Scores
NU 67 – Manansala 18, Palacielo 15, Figueroa 13, Enriquez 6, Santiago 4, Jumamoy 4, Padrones 2, Garcia 2, Francisco 2, Tulabut 1, Yu 0, Lim 0, Parks 0, Perciano 0.
UST 62 – Cabanero 19, Tounkara 15, Manaytay 8, Paranada 8, Acido 6, Padrigao 3, Danting 3, Crisostomo 0, Pangilinan 0, Llemit 0, Robinson 0, Lane 0, Estacio 0.
Quarters: 19-12, 34-36, 47-55, 67-62.
– Rappler.com