SHAUN Lucido caught fire from beyond the arc at the perfect moment, as NU-Nazareth School exacted revenge against Ateneo, 81-78, to climb to a share of second in the UAAP Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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 their payback from a lopsided 63-86 first-round loss to the Blue Eagles last January 22.
“Alam ko struggling siya ‘eh. Sabi ko lang sa kanya, itira niya lang, papasok din yan. Timely baskets, back-to-back three-points, ‘yon yung nagdala sa game namin, yung tapang niya,” head coach Kevin de Castro said.
It was a day of comebacks, as co-captain Charles Esteban and Nigerian center Ola Ajani rallied defending champion University of Santo Tomas in the clutch to stun University of the East, 60-57, to 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 the Tiger Cubs tied the Jr. Warriors for sixth with 3-5 slates.
Lucido led the Bullpups 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. Chad Cartel added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal, as Kurl Figueroa chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, and one steal.
For Ateneo, Ziv Espina fronted the effort 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. Noah Banal finished with 15 points and four rebounds, as Nigerian center Jude Eriobu posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds with five blocks.
In the earlier game, the Jr. Warriors appeared poised to dominate the Tiger Cubs, as two triples from Jamal Diaz gave them a nine-point, 54-45 lead with 6:30 remaining.
But UST showed its championship poise in the clutch, with Esteban scoring four points before Jetlee Melano made back-to-back layups and Kirk Canete converted a triple to pull them within 57-56 with 78 seconds left.
Esteban’s heroics continued, as he made another layup and forced a turnover on UE’s Ethan Aguas with 31.9 seconds left, setting up Ajani for a dagger floater that extended the black-and-gold lead to 60-57 with 9.5 seconds remaining.
The Jr. Warriors had a chance to force overtime, but Aguas and Mhico Abellar missed separate attempts for the game-tying triple.
“Very satisfied ako na nakuha namin yung panalo, and nag-step up si Ola and si Charles, kasi sabi ko nga, missing link talaga sila doon sa veterans ko nung first round. Sa second round, good start pinakita nila kaagad na kailangan nila tumulong at kaya nila tumulong,” said head coach Manu Iñigo.
Ajani finished with a dominant double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds, plus one steal and one block, while Esteban had 11 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Jamal Diaz was UE's only double-digit scorer with 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Abellar finished with eight points, two rebounds, and one assist.
FEU-D now solo first
Far Eastern University-Diliman then seized solo first place with a 69-61 victory over De La Salle Zobel.
Do-it-all guard Khean Esperanza starred with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, along with five rebounds, one assist, and one steal, as the Baby Tamaraws carried over their first-round momentum and cruised to their sixth consecutive victory.
With the win, FEU-D improved to a 7-1 win-loss record to claim solo first place, creating separation from joint second-placers Ateneo and NUNS
Meanwhile, Adamson weathered a 33-point explosion from Bruce Tubongbanua, carving out a 72-64 triumph over the University of the Philippines Integrated School to seize solo fourth.
Kieff Iledan shined with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting on top of three assists, two rebounds, one steal, and one block, while Kevin Frogoso provided 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, along with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Baby Falcons returned to the win column and improved to 4-4, separating themselves from the three-way tie for fifth involving defending champion UST, UE, and the Jr. Archers.
For DLSZ, Dabao topped the scoring column with 15 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists, while Nino Ferrer supplied 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist.
For the Jr. Maroons, Tubongbanua went 12-of-16 from the field, on top of four rebounds and one steal, while Jhustin Hallare had 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block.
The Scores:
First Game
UST 60 - Ajani 13, Esteban 11, Pulongbarit 10, Melano 9, Canete 6, Canapi 5, Ludovice 3, Bathan 3, Sta. Maria 0, Lapastora 0, Vidanes 0, Candare 0, Bohol 0.
UE 57 - Diaz 14, Abellar 8, Timbol 7, Aguas 6, Pascual 6, Edoukou 5, Lorenzo 5, Braga 4, Bual 2, Roquid 0, Delos Reyes 0, Oraa 0.
Quarters: 12-22, 27-31, 43-48, 60-57.
Second Game
NUNS 81 - Lucido 23, Diakite 16, Cartel 12, Figueroa 10, M. Matias 9, Cabantog 6, Bouzina 3, Juan 2, R. Matias 0, Natinga 0.
ATENEO 78 - Espinas 18, Madrangca 18, Banal 15, Eriobu 13, Leal 9, Gatmaitan 3,Kallos 2, Kaw 0, Lacsamana 0.
Quarters: 21-22, 45-47, 62-66, 81-78.
Third Game
FEU-D 69 - Esperanza 17, Cagurungan 12, Cabonilas 6, Dagcutan 6, Burgos 4, Raneses 4, Alagaban 4, Carino 4, Hall 3, Gaye 3, Dulin 3, Enriquez 2, Sohm 1, J. Santos 0, D. Santos 0.
DLSZ 61 - Dabao 15, Ferrer 13, Atienza 9, Ja. Alpapara 8, Arejola 5, Favis 5, Borrero 4, Dimayuga 1, Luna 1, Tan 0, Llamas 0.
Quarters: 22-18, 42-31, 59-47, 69-61.
Fourth Game
ADAMSON 72 - Iledan 13, Frogoso 12, Saygo 9, Jenodia 7, Gomez 7, Flores 7, Fongtong 6, Artango 5, Babad 4, Bautista 2.
UPIS 64 - Tubongbanua 33, Hallare 14, Poquiz 7, Lugatiman 4, Labao 4, Rosete 2, Addatu 0, Pascual 0, Hernandez 0, Manguerra 0.
Quarters: 14-13, 33-31, 57-42, 72-64.
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