By Jun Ray Navarres
National University secured their third win streak after holding off University of the East, 68-49 ,in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Wednesday.
After the strong 21-point first quarter of the Red Warriors, the Bulldogs bite back starting the second quarter to outscore the Warriors, 47-28.
NU tallied 12 steals total compared to UE’s only three. Omar John, Donn Lim, Jolo Manansala, and Patrick Wilson Yu each snatched two possessions each from UE.
Yet, head coach Jeff Napa was not fully satisfied despite NU’s incredible performance.
“In today’s game, I’m at least 40 percent satisfied on their performance kasi nung first quarter we gave up 21 points right away eh. We’re sending a wrong message sa kalaban. ‘Yon yung inaddress ko,” said Napa at the post-game conference.
The Bulldogs also capitalized on UE’s 23 turnovers, converting them into 29 points. John and Figueroa ended with 12 points and 10 rebounds each. PJ Palacielo tallied 12 points in less than 12 minutes of playing time.
Kean Baclaan dished six dimes for NU while grabbing five boards.
Conversely, no one broke the double digit scoring for UE. Precious Momowei only scored eight points. Rey Remogat and Abdul Sawat scored seven points each.
NU will look ahead to finish strong in round 1, hoping to secure a fourth consecutive win against Adamson University while UE hopes to escape slump against De la Salle University on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Featured photo courtesy of UAAP
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