NUNS, UST reignite HS basketball rivalry

National University Nazareth School (NUNS) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) are set to reignite their rivalry in the secondary level, this time on the hardcourt, as they clash in the finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) juniors basketball tournament.

For the first time in league history, NUNS and UST will face off in the best-of-three championship series in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. This latest chapter follows their encounters in other sporting events such as indoor and beach volleyball.

Game 1 of the girls’ finals will tip off at 10 a.m., followed by the boys’ finals at 12 p.m. today at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The Bullpups, led by young head coach Kevin de Castro, edged past defending champions Adamson University, 64-62, last Sunday to advance to their second consecutive finals appearance — their 11th in the past 12 seasons.

This time, NU will be out for revenge against the Tiger Cubs, the team that denied them an outright finals berth with a 76-56 defeat to close the elimination round.

“We were able to avenge our loss to Adamson, so maybe this is also our chance to get back at UST from our last game,” De Castro said.

Meanwhile, the Tiger Cubs, coached by second-year mentor Manu Iñigo, have suffered just two losses this season — one of which was a 71-60 setback against the Bullpups on opening day.

“I told them that none of that matters anymore — whoever won the first and second round doesn’t count,” Iñigo said.

“It doesn’t matter that we won by 20 points in the second round; that’s done. We’re starting back from scratch. We’ll prepare again in practice and be even more ready.”

“We know that NU won’t play the same way they did last time. They’ll make adjustments, and we’ll look at what we need to adjust as well to secure the win.”

Reigning Most Valuable Player and presumptive winner of the league’s first-ever Best Foreign Student-Athlete award, Collins Akowe, has struggled in his last two outings.

After averaging 22.0 points and 19.42 rebounds before the final elimination round game, the 6-foot-10 Nigerian Grade 12 big man was held to just eight points and 18 rebounds against Adamson and managed only 11 points and six rebounds against UST.

With that in mind, De Castro is preparing key players such as Migs Palanca, Jedric Solomon, Macmac Alfanta, Jid Locsin, and Chad Cartel to step up and support the Bullpups’ quest for their first title since Season 82 in 2019.

“Our story this season isn’t over yet. Maybe this is the time for us to reclaim what we’ve worked hard for. This is one step closer to what we’ve been striving for,” de Castro said.

“It’s the same thing — we just have to be ready. We’ll still make a lot of adjustments, and we know that if Collins is tightly guarded, our local players need to step up.”