Bullpups near elims sweep; UST stays alive

Defending champion National University Nazareth School (NUNS) moved closer to an elimination-round sweep after scoring a statement 75-67 victory over Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU-D) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 boys’ 16U basketball tournament on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Following their Season 88 Finals rematch, the Bullpups maintained their unblemished record at 12-0, extending their winning streak to 28 games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas (UST) kept its flickering Final Four hopes alive after stunning De La Salle Zobel, 98-91, to snap a two-game losing streak.

The victory brought the Tiger Cubs back to the win column and kept their postseason aspirations alive, although their fate remains out of their hands.

UST needs to beat the University of the Philippines Integrated School in its final game and hope that the University of the East loses both of its remaining assignments to force a playoff for the last semifinal berth.

With the victory, NUNS also completed a sweep of last season’s finalists.

“We really can’t relax yet because we’re not champions yet. Win or lose, that doesn’t matter,” said RJ Mayor, who started in place of Dwyane Wade Enriquez, who was under the weather and saw limited minutes.

“We mean, we’ll only celebrate when the tournament is over; win or lose, we just stay composed.”

After the Baby Tams took an early 9-7 lead in the first quarter, the Bullpups responded with a 15-4 run to close the period ahead, 22-13.

From there, NUNS asserted its dominance in the paint to maintain control of the game, stretching its advantage to as many as 14 points, 54-40, in the third quarter.

Although FEU-D managed to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, the Bullpups' dominance inside on both ends of the floor proved decisive.

Mayor led NUNS with 15 points, while Aaron Dalanan recorded a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Andrie Lopez and Martin Macoy chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Despite scoring just eight points, Jesse Arellano made his presence felt with 19 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks.

The Bullpups will next face the already-eliminated Ateneo Blue Eagles in their penultimate elimination-round game on September 14 at the same venue.

FEU-D, on the other hand, remained in second place at 9-3, holding a half-game lead over third-running De La Salle Zobel.

Hisham Mampao paced the Baby Tams with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Nicus Calma and Bernard Alsola added 12 points apiece.

Marc Isip contributed 10 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free-throw line despite the loss.