Shaun Lucido caught fire from beyond the arc at the perfect moment as National University Nazareth School (NUNS) exacted revenge against Ateneo de Manila University, 81-78, to climb to a share of second place in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Trailing by three at 74-71 with 1:55 left, Lucido — who had missed his first four three-point attempts — sank two consecutive triples that propelled the Bullpups to a 77-74 lead with less than a minute remaining, effectively completing NUNS’ comeback from a lopsided 63-86 first-round loss to the Blue Eagles last 22 January.

It was a day of comebacks, as co-captain Charles Esteban and Nigerian center Ola Ajani rallied defending champion University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the clutch to stun the University of the East (UE), 60-57, marking a strong return to the win column.

With the results, NUNS and Ateneo are now tied at second in the standings with identical 6-2 records, while UST tied UE for sixth place with 3-5 slates.

Far Eastern University-Diliman, which ended the first round with a 6-1 slate, is currently facing De La Salle-Zobel as of publishing.

“I know he was struggling after shooting 0-of-4 from the three-point area. But I told him to keep on shooting because it will eventually go in. Timely baskets, back-to-back three points, his courage carried us in this game,” Bullpups head coach Kevin de Castro said.

The Blue Eagles had stayed in control earlier as two Ziv Espina layups and a Renzo Gatmaitan triple built a 73-66 lead with 5:55 left. But the Bullpups, behind a Mot Matias layup and a Chad Cartel triple, cut the deficit to 73-71 with 3:46 remaining.

With Noah Banal making only one of his three free throws, Lucido seized the moment, hitting back-to-back triples that gave NUNS a crucial 77-74 lead with 46.7 seconds left.

From there, the Bullpups played the foul game, with Matias, Lucido, and Corian Cabantog each converting a free throw to seal the final score and NUNS’ sixth win in eight games.

Lucido led NUNS with 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, while Malian center Moussa Diakite contributed a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus one steal. Cartel added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Kurl Figueroa chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Matias nearly posted a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds, four steals, and two assists.

For Ateneo, Ziv Espina paced the team with 18 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, and one block, while Unri Madrangca scored 18 points on six triples, adding three steals, one block, and one rebound. Banal finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while Nigerian center Jude Eriobu posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds with five blocks.