National University Nazareth School (NUNS) and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) continued their strong starts in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament with dominant wins on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Bullpups leaned on the duo of Moussa Diakite and Mark Arzola to secure a 78-66 victory over Far Eastern University (FEU)-Diliman while the Tiger Cubs romped past De La Salle-Zobel, 91-70, to post their second straight victories.

Malian center Diakite and guard Arzola each scored 17 points, pulling down 14 and 10 rebounds, respectively, to lead NUNS.

The Bullpups held a 42-27 lead after Arzola’s basket with 1:18 left in the second quarter, but their 15-point cushion dwindled to just 45-44 following a 17-3 run by Prince Cariño, Prince Pineda and Dwyne Enriquez, with 5:43 left in the third quarter.

That proved to be NUNS’ closest challenge, as Clark Khobuntin, David Sabareza, Jehove Gatumbato, Ean Tria and Arzola countered FEU-D’s efforts to reclaim a 61-53 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bullpups then sealed the win in the final period, with Dwyne Enriquez’s three-pointer, Gatumbato and Tria’s baskets, and Diakite’s dunk stretching the lead to 74-63, too large for FEU-D to recover from.

“We had to chage our defensive strategy because they were able to solve it,” Bullpups coach Leo Pujante said.

“At the start of the third quarter, we were using the defensive pattern that we employed in the first half. I think they adjusted at halftime, so we had to change our defense.”

Aside from Diakite and Arzola, Tria had a standout game with 14 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Khobuntin added six points and 12 rebounds. Ian Jay Manalo missed the game due to illness.

For UST, CJ Tabbuga scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Miguel Jubilado added 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists to lead the Tiger Cubs to a 2-0 record.

UST relied on a strong second-half surge to overcome DLSZ. After John Mindanao’s three-pointer and follow-up free throw brought the Junior Archers within 56-53 with 7:06 left in the third quarter, Chan Guinto, Dave Regala, Wayne Anggot, and Jubilado responded with a 16-7 run that gave UST a 72-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Tiger Cubs maintained momentum, with Gab Castro’s basket capping a 10-2 sequence that extended their lead to 82-62 with 6:15 remaining, effectively putting the game out of reach.