NU drops Ateneo, arrests 4-game slide

National University halted a four-game slide by venting its ire on struggling Ateneo de Manila University, 78-68, to end the first round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on a positive note Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

A huge 8-0 fourth quarter blitz initiated by Kenshin Padrones and capped by Jake Figueroa after the Blue Eagles trimmed a 13-point gap to just five with six minutes left saved the Bulldogs from a scary meltdown for their second win in seven outings.

“Finally. At least we broke our four-game losing streak, our heartbreak. So, hopefully, this win will give us confidence coming into our second round,” said head coach Jeff Napa, who was emotional about the NU community’s overwhelming support despite the team’s strings of misfortunes.

Padrones scored 18 points and six rebounds while Figueroa added 15 markers and seven boards for the Bulldogs, who climbed to solo sixth spot.

Steve Nash Enriquez and Jolo Manansala added nine and eight points, respectively, for NU.

The Bulldogs controlled the whole game, never allowing Ateneo to take the helm but had to hang tough after the Blue Eagles made a 12-4 blast to close in, 63-58, after Kyle Gamber nailed a three with 6:14 left.

Padrones calmly sank two foul shots to stop NU’s bleeding followed by an Enriquez basket on a goaltending call against Ateneo big man Kyle Ong. Padrones scored another basket before Figueroa gave the Bulldogs a 71-58 cushion.

Jared Bahay tried to rally the Blue Eagles back with eight straight points including two treys but Figueroa and Manansala answered with key baskets to keep NU at a safe distance.

Ateneo suffered its worst first round outing in the Final Four era with a disappointing 1-6 win-loss slate at the last spot tied with Far Eastern University.

Andrew Bongo led the Blue Eagles with 17 points on 6-of-12 field goal shooting including five triples while Bahay had 15.

Box scores:

NU (78) – Padrones 18, Figueroa 15, Enriquez 9, Manansala 8, Garcia 7, Francisco 6, Jumamoy 4, Palacielo 4, Perciano 3, Dela Cruz 2, Lim 1, Santiago 1, Yu 0, Parks 0.     

Ateneo (68) – Bongo 17, Bahay 15, Lazaro 7, Gamber 7, Balogun 6, Tuano 5, Espinosa 4, Koon 2, Quitevis 2, Espina 2, Ong 1, Porter 0.     

Quarters: 15-13, 34-28, 58-46, 78-68