BULLDOGS END THEIR 6-GAME LOSING STREAK AFTER DEFEATING RED WARRIORS
By Maxine Louise Lagman
5 November 2016
THE National University has been on a dreadful run in the second round of the UAAP tournament, until they finally won a much-needed victory against the University of the East, 64-52 on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Bulldogs was trailing behind the Warriors from the first half until the third quarter, but was able to push away from UE in the last period with a huge 18-0 run that crippled their opponent.
Matt Salem boosted the Bulldogs to push themselves into winning the match, as he fired triple three’s with J-jay Alejandro adding another that put their team into a 64-50 advantage.
NU Coach Eric Altamirano said that the team was able to execute a good defense in the last quarter of the game. “It’s been a very long dry spell for us. We’re happy for this win. We don’t know the significance of this win but what’s important for us is getting back into the winning column,” he added.
After a six-game losing skid in the tournament, the NU Bulldogs held on to a spot in making the Final Four. With only five wins out of 13 outings, NU still pushes hard to hopefully still make it to the top four.
Salem led the Bulldogs with 20 points, which 11 of it rained by the last period of the game. Alfred Arroga had a double-double, 11 points and 14 rebounds. Manuel Mosqueda added 11 points and four rebounds, while Alejandro had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists that helped NU seal the win.
Alvin Pasaol was the lone double-pointer for the Red Warriors with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Philip Manalang had seven points and six rebounds.
UE dropped farther into the standings, losing their 10th game out of 12 outings.
Follow the writer on Twitter: [social link=”https://twitter.com/burnsports” icon=”62218″]
