Jolo Manansala pours 21 points in NU’s 83-74 win over UE to clinch a Final Four twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
Photograph COURTESY OF UAAP
Daily TribuneJolo Manansala pours 21 points in NU’s 83-74 win over UE to clinch a Final Four twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
Photograph COURTESY OF UAAP
Bulldogs take first twice-to-beat incentive
Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
2 p.m. — La Salle vs FEU
4:30 p.m. — UP vs Adamson
National University (NU) head coach Jeff Napa gave his wards a tongue-lashing during the halftime break.
The Bulldogs responded with a red-hot performance in the second half to frustrate upset-conscious University of the East (UE), 83-74, and clinch a Final Four twice-to-beat advantage in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
NU overhauled an 18-point deficit in the early goings of the third quarter by riding a couple of blistering scoring spurts to extend its winning run to five for a league-leading 11-2 win-loss slate.
Despite the comeback over the listless Red Warriors, Napa wasn’t amused at all.
“The first half was unusual. I think our players assumed UE wasn’t going to play seriously. We were too relaxed, so when we went back to the dugout, I said, ‘Is this the level you want to play at when we’re about to enter the Final Four? If you want to succeed at the next level, you have to give your best,’” Napa said.
Jolo Manansala led four other Bulldogs in double-figure scoring with 21 points.
Jake Figueroa had 14 points, center Omar John added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Paul Francisco and PJ Palacielo submitted 12 and 11 points, respectively, for NU, which will end its elimination round campaign against University of Santo Tomas on 23 November at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bulldogs, who are looking to end an 11-year title drought, will enter the semifinals with an incentive for the first time since 2013.
NU struggled in the first two quarters and went down, 35-53, early in the third canto.
The Bulldogs flipped the switch with a 20-4 blast orchestrated by Manansala, John, and Mark Parks to bring down their deficit to two, 55-57, with 1:50 left in the third period.
Another 19-2 explosion powered Palacielo, Figueroa, John, and Manansala turned the Bulldogs’ five-point deficit to end the third period into a 75-63 cushion with 2:57 left in the game.
NU kept UE without a field goal during its run before Tope Lagat ended the Red Warriors’ drought with a floater in the last 1:16 of the game.
UE suffered a 13th straight defeat in as many starts.
Lagat paced the Red Warriors, whose losing skid extended to 19 overall since the second round of the previous season, with 17 points. Precious Momowei had a double-double of 14 points and 12 boards while rookie Dylan Despi scored 11.
