NU-NAZARETH School booked its third straight ticket to the finals after outlasting De La Salle Zobel, 75-70, in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym.
The Bullpups now face off against FEU-Diliman in the title series, rekindling their finals matchup from Season 82 - the last time the blue-and-gold won it all then under Goldwin Monteverde and led by Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao.
Trailing by a point after a basket by Maco Dabao, 66-67, NUNS responded with a crucial 6-0 run to get more breathing room with a minute remaining.
Dabao answered anew with a triple to trim the deficit to two with 28 seconds left, but Mot Matias and Moussa Diakite calmly knocked down the game-sealing free throws that propelled the Bullpups into its 12th Finals appearance in the last 13 seasons.
Diakite led the scoring with 14 points on top of 13 rebounds, while Chad Cartel and Shaun Lucido added 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
“Well, coming into this game, expected ko na talaga na magiging close game ’to kasi yun naman yung hinahanap ko sa kanila na ito yung game na playoff,” said fourth-year head coach Kevin De Castro.
“Kumbaga yung mga na-achieve niyo noong first round, second round, wala ’yan. Sa playoffs kasi, doon lumalabas yung mga big-time players. So credits sa Zobel, binigyan kami ng good fight,” he added.
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De Castro and the Bullpups have endured three straight seasons of heartbreak - first when their finals streak was halted by the Baby Tamaraws, then when they reached the title series, but lost to Adamson in the decider, and most recently last season when they dominated the eliminations only to fall to University of Santo Tomas in three games in the championship series.
But the tactician believes this year tells a different story.
“Magandang challenge for us. Kumbaga this time around, yung third time namin, kami naman yung underdog. Kumbaga nandito kami sa experience na ito. New story for us, sana makuha namin for the school, and for sir Fulton [Sy],” he said.
READ: Bullpups playing for much more than just themselves. Find out why
Meanwhile, Matias - who missed a Mythical Team selection due to suspension - filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
“Ginawa ko lang yung motivation. Dahil yun nga, nawala ako sa Mythical. Dahil sa kagagawa ko rin naman ‘yun. So siguro ito yung reward para sa’min lahat. Kukunin namin itong gold para kay coach Kev, sir Fulton, and sa NU,” he said.
On the other side, Dabao capped his breakout campaign with 23 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal, and one block, while Nino Ferrer backed him up with 17 points and four rebounds for the Jr. Archers.
The Scores:
NUNS 75 - Diakite 14, Cartel 13, Lucido 11, M. Matias 10, Figueroa 10, Cabantog 6, Natinga 6, R. Matias 2, Bouzina 2, Juan 1.
DLSZ 70 - Dabao 23, Ferrer 17, Mikailu 9, Borrero 8, Arejola 4, Favis 3, Atienza 2, Ja. Alpapara 2, Jo. Alpapara 2, Llamas 0.
Quarters: 17-21, 33-38, 54-54, 75-70.
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