NATIONAL University ended a tough season on a high note, beating defending champion La Salle, 63-54, in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena yesterday.

The Bulldogs, who will miss the Final Four with a 5-9 record after back-to-back third place finishes, were able to avenge their 75-78 opening day loss to the Green Archers, in a game where NU’s Malian slotman Mo Diassana went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Promising to end the season strong with their Final Four bid hurt with their disappointing showing in the first 10 games, the Bulldogs were able to get the job done in their elimination round contest.

Aside from beating La Salle, NU also hacked out a shock win against last year’s finalist University of the Philippines by 20 points and subdued University of Santo Tomas, which upgraded its roster during the off-season in the second round.

It was a no-bearing game with nothing left at stake but pride, coach Jeff Napa was satisfied the way the Bulldogs went all-out to end their campaign on a high note.

“So happy sa mga players talaga na binigay nila yung best nila up to the last. See you next year. Ganoon kasimple. Definitely, and hopefully, maging healthy kami talaga next year para at least maganda yung magiging performance namin,” said Napa.

PJ Palacielo led NU with 16 points and eight rebounds while Jake Figueroa contributed 14 points.

“Hindi kami nakapasok ng Final Four pero nakita ko buong season yung potential. Masaya rin ako kahit although, hindi kami nakapasok ng Final Four, pero yung remaining games namin ngayong second round, ginawa namin nang maayos at tinapos namin nang maayos,” said Palacielo, who will be an integral part of the Bulldogs next season.

Despite ending a nine-game winning streak, the Green Archers still finished the eliminations with a 12-2 record, having secured the No. 1 ranking in the Final Four for the first time since their 2016 title run.

With a twice-to-beat incentive, La Salle will face the No. 4 team in the Final Four, where University of the East, UST, Adamson and Far Eastern University could land at the fourth spot.

Mike Phillips had a double-double effort of 18 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for the Green Archers. Reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao, who is a part of the 15-man Gilas Pilipinas pool for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, logged six points and seven rebounds.

Quiambao will enter the national team training bubble at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna tomorrow.

In women’s play, NU turned to its bench to rally from an eight-point first quarter hole and beat also-ran La Salle, 72-63, to move on the cusp of advancing to the Finals outright.

The Lady Bulldogs, undefeated in 13 games, fell behind 2-10 in the early goings when Cielo Pagdulagan and Aloha Betanio starred in the Jhocson-based squad’s 13-4 run in the second period to pull away from the only deadlock of the contest, 20-20, and never looked back.

“It’s a welcome development again for us na somehow today, our bench has more points than the other school. Last three games kasi namin talo yung bench namin in scoring, we’re happy today that we finally got what we wanted from the bench,” said NU coach Aris Dimaunahan.

With 12 out of 16 Lady Bulldogs scoring, Pagdulagan led the way with 11 points and three rebounds, while Betanio enjoyed an all-around outing with nine points, five rebounds, and five assists.

NU shoots for a place in the best-of-three Finals via 14-0 sweep against already eliminated Far Eastern University at 8 a.m. on Nov. 23 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Luisa San Juan paced the Lady Archers with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Lee Sario tallied 14 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

In junior high school action, UST repulsed NUNS, 80-70, to bolster its Final Four bid with a 7-4 card, while La Salle-Zobel overcame UP Integrated School, 79-74. The Junior Archers improved to 5-5, half-a-game ahead of the Bullpups (5-6) in the race for the last Final Four berth.

The scores:

First game (W)

NU (72) – Pagdulagan 11, Betanio 9, Canuto 9, Cayabyab 9, Clarin 8, Surada 7, Pingol 6, Konateh 3, Fabruada 3, Villanueva 3, Solis 2, Ico 2, Pring 0, Alterado 0, Garcia 0, Talas 0.
DLSU (63) – San Juan 19, Sario 14, Sunga 12, Mendoza 6, Barcierto 4, Paraiso 4, Binaohan 2, Dalisay 2, Dela Paz 0.
Quarterscores: 9-15, 33-24, 56-41, 72-63

Second game (M)

NU (63) – Palacielo 16, Figueroa 14, Garcia 8, Manansala 6, Enriquez 5, Padrones 5, Jumamoy 3, Yu 3, Dela Cruz 2, Lim 1, Santiago 0, Tulabut 0, Parks 0, Francisco 0.
DLSU (54) – Phillips 18, Gonzales 9, Agunnane 8, Quiambao 6, Ramiro 4, David 3, Macalalag 2, Gollena 2, Dungo 1, Marasigan 1, Konov 0, Austria 0, Alian 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 38-32, 47-39, 63-54

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado