University of the East came through with its third straight win after outlasting National University, 57-51, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Throwing in a tight zone defense after halftime did wonders for the Red Warriors as they limited the struggling Bulldogs to just 16 points in the second half on their way to a 3-2 win-loss record.

Wello Lingolingo connected a dagger three-pointer with 42 seconds left in the game to give UE some breathing room, 53-49, after NU closed in within one point.

He then calmly swished in a couple of foul shots in the last 14 ticks to push the Red Warriors’ lead to 55-51 before Ethan Galang put on the finishing touches from the free throw line after blocking Donn Lim’s three-point attempt on the other end.    

Head coach Jack Santiago praised his wards for fully committing to their defensive scheme in the last two quarters which made life miserable for NU.

The Bulldogs shot 6-of-38 in the second half and went 1-of-21 from the three-point area after hitting six of their 10 attempts from deep in the first two periods.

“I’m so happy again that the boys have responded very well. Actually, we had a bad practice yesterday but I’m glad all the players especially those coming off the bench stepped up. They followed our game plan down the stretch,” Santiago said.

John Abate fired 15 points on 7-of-12 field goal shooting and pulled down six rebounds for UE.

Lingolingo scored eight points with five coming in the fourth quarter, Galang got seven points, six rebounds and two blocks while Precious Momowei made up for a bad scoring night with just five by bringing down 20 boards.

The Bulldogs had a chance to salvage the game after Jolo Manansala converted on a layup off a steal from Rainer Maga with 19.5 seconds remaining. Another near steal almost cost the Red Warriors the game but Lingolingo was able to secure the inbound pass and was fouled.   

NU absorbed its fourth straight defeat for a 1-5 card.

No Bulldog reached double-figure scoring as Steve Nash Enriquez only had nine points while Manansala, Reinhard Jumamoy and Kenshin Padrones got eight each in a lost cause.

Box scores:

UE (57) – Abate 15, Lingolingo 8, Galang 7, Wilson 6, Maga 6, Momowei 5, Fikes 5, J. Cruz-Dumont 3, Malaga 2, Go 0, Robles 0, Mulingtapang 0, Spandonis 0.

NU (51) – Enriquez 9, Manansala 8, Jumamoy 8, Padrones 8, Lim 6, Figueroa 4, Francisco 3, Santiago 3, Palacielo 2, Yu 0, Perciano 0, Garcia 0, Tulabut 0, Dela Cruz 0, Parks 0.

Quarters: 10-15, 30-35, 44-43, 57-51