By Jun Ray Navarres
National University survived a final-minute scare from De La Salle University to clinch a thrilling 82-78 victory on Sunday afternoon at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion, claiming the solo lead in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament with a 5-1 record.
Jake Figueroa led the Bulldogs with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting along with eight rebounds, while the Green Archers suffered their second consecutive loss, further compounded by an apparent knee injury to forward Mason Amos early in the fourth quarter.
The match up saw a tight battle throughout, with the score tied at the half, 40-40.
La Salle only saw some daylight by gaining a game high six-point advantage heading into the final frame, 61-55.
Right when the last year’s runner up was proving to be a tall order for the Bulldogs, the final session told a different story.
“Sa past games nga sa preseason, talagang hindi namin matalo ang La Salle. Talagang kailangan namin gawan ng paraan kung ano ‘yung bubutasin namin sa kanila para talunin namin sila. After pa lang ng last game namin, talagang nakapokus kami kung anong kailangan namin gawin,” said Palacielo, who finished with 16 points.
Definitely, NU seemed to find the solution to La Salle as their defense tightened in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs were boosted by the clutch performance of Reinhard Jumamoy, who scored all of his eight points in the closing period.
With the Bulldogs clinging to a slim two-point lead, 77-75, in the final seconds, Jumamoy snatched a crucial steal from La Salle’s Mike Phillips after a missed free throw, leading to two trips to the charity stripe, 79-75.
But the Green Archers never gave up with Kean Baclaan, facing his former team, burying a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a single point, 79-78, with 4.4 seconds remaining.
However, Jumamoy calmly sank two more free throws on the ensuing possession to seal the win for NU.
“We’d like to say thank you sa nilaro ng mga bata. They really wanted it since the other day pa sa practice. You can see that they were so focused on what they’re doing, they were so relaxed. We know that when we entered this game, alam nila ‘yung gagawin nila,” said NU assistant coach Vic Ycasiano.
Paul Francisco added 13 points while Gelo Santiago dropped 12 baskets in the win.
For La Salle, Phillips tallied another double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds, tying with Jacob Cortez for the team-high scoring honors while Baclaan finished with 11 markers.
Head coach Topex Robinson confirmed Amos felt a “pop” after an opponent inadvertently landed on his right knee. He is set for an MRI as the Green Archers slide to 2-3.
Featured image courtesy of UAAP Media Bureau
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