By ANDREI BARRANTES
NU-NAZARETH School dealt FEU-Diliman its first UAAP Season 87 boys’ basketball tournament defeat with an emphatic 75-58 decision on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Reigning MVP Collins Akowe notched yet another double-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks, while also standing as anchor on the defensive end, as the Bullpups hounded the Baby Tamaraws to a season-worst 29-percent from the field and 2-of-26 from deep.
To add to the defensive masterclass, National U’s bigs had a field day in the paint, racking up 38 points and wiping the boards with 50 to FEU-Diliman’s 40.
Cabs Cabonilas carried the load again for the green-and-gold with 11 points and eight rebounds. Despite the respectable stat line, the Gilas Pilipinas Youth player struggled greatly, sinking only three of his 12 shots and committing five turnovers.
Yosef Raneses was the only other Baby Tams in double-digits, with 10 points and six rebounds.
Two beatdowns in convincing fashion also occurred, as University of the East and University of Santo Tomas both improved to 2-1.
The Jr. Warriors pounded on already-grounded University of the Philippines Integrated School for a massive 44-point winning margin, 104-60.
The red-and-white was red-hot from beyond the arc, and at one point in the blowout, detonated six straight threes on the shell-shocked Jr. Maroons who were fresh off a 53-point beatdown.
Kristopher Lagat led the splash party with 14 points built on four treys, while Lance Sabroso and Louie Bual followed closely with 13 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Tiger Cubs then gave defending champion Adamson another source of frustration courtesy of an 84-68 romp.
Racine Kane fronted the black-and-gold’s fiery start, scoring all but two points in their 11-0 opening salvo. The Baby Falcons, on the other hand, had to wait until halfway through the second quarter to even breach double-figures.
Still, Adamson clawed all the way back to take a 56-54 lead after three periods only to see UST fire a 28-14 final frame en route to stringing together back-to-back wins following a season-opening loss.
Kane powered through for the second straight game and wound up 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five steals, Charles Bucsit and Charles Esteban had 18 and 14 markers, respectively.
Mark Esperanza paced the 1-2 Baby Falcons with 16 points, eight assists, and six boards, while Jhustin Hallare topped the scoring column for the 0-3 Jr. Maroons with 17 markers and eight boards.
Joining FEU-Diliman, UE, and UST in a share of second at 2-1 is De La Salle Zobel which came through in another overtime game, this time against archrival Ateneo, 73-65.
Bonn Daja’s came up big when it mattered most, as he sank two consecutive and-one baskets for a six-point Jr. Archers lead with less than two minutes left in the extra period. Gilas Youth teammate Kieffer Alas then sank a mid-range jumper to put the finishing touches in his 22-point, 9-rebound, 3-assist, and 3-steal performance.
On the other hand, the Blue Eagles remain winless even after Ziv Espinas’ 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Scores:
First Game
UE 104 - Lagat 14, Sabroso 13, Bual 10, Diaz 9, Alexandro 9, Bana 9, Timbol 8, Abellar 8, Aguas 4, Roquid 4, Almanza 4, Chua 3, Farochilen 3, Lorenzo 2, Dahino 2, Cuevas 2
UPIS 60 - Hallare 17, Egea 13, Gomez de Liano 13, Tubongbanua 7, Melicor 5, Pascual 3, Addatu 2, Coronel 0, Hernandez 0, Gepitan 0, Cobico 0, Rosete 0, Uvero 0, Poquiz 0
Quarters: 30-16, 55-26, 74-45, 104-60
Second Game
DLSZ 73 - Alas 22, Daja 10, Dabao 8, Arejola 8, Borrero 6, Espinosa 6, Tailan 4, Favis 4, Mben 2, Gubat 2, Atienza 1, Reguera 0
ATENEO 65 - Leal 14, Espinas 12, Urbina 11, Ymasa 8, Lagdamen 6, Tan 4, Lacsamana 4, Reyes 3, Kallos 2, Delos Santos 1, Asistio 0
Quarters: 15-17, 32-33, 48-44, 61-61, 73-65
Third Game
UST 84 - Kane 19, Bucsit 18, Esteban 14, Canete 7, Manding 7, Acido 7, Buenaflor 6, Ludovice 3, Bandingan 3, Cinco 0, Solon 0, Catalan 0, Bohol 0
ADAMSON 68 - Esperanza 16, Medina 12, Umali 12, Sajili 11, Artango 4, Murillo 4, Abayon 4, De Jesus 4, Perez 1, Jenodia 0, Garcia 0, Matiliano 0
Quarters: 19-5, 37-25, 56-54, 84-68
Fourth Game
NUNS 75 - Akowe 19, Alfanta 10, Cartel 9, Nepacena 8, Usop 8, Palanca 6, Solomon 5, Locsin 4, Napa 3, Lucido 2, Bouzina 1, Matias 0, Figueroa 0, Casala 0, Natinga 0
FEU-DILIMAN - Cabonilas 11, Raneses 10, Gemao 9, Pascual 8, Salangsang 8, Hall 5, Burgos 4, Castillejos 2, De Guzman 1, Maierhofer 0, Santos 0, Cagurungan 0
Quarters: 25-13, 39-25, 57-39, 75-58
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