NATIONAL U continued to put everybody on notice, earning solo leadership in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament by willing its way past La Salle, 82-78, Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
PJ Palacielo could not be stopped in the fourth, where he bullied the likes of Mike Phillips and Bright Nwankwo for 10 of his 16 points, to go with two rebounds and two assists, as the Bulldogs moved up to a 5-1 record.
But it wasn't without a scare, especially after the Green Archers got to within one, 76-75, after a Jacob Cortez basket off a Jake Figueroa turnover with 13.9 seconds left.
Figueroa would atone for that miscue with a split from the line with 12.1 seconds to go, while Reinhard Jumamoy outsmarted Phillips with the former stealing the ball on the latter's rebound play to set up Paul Francisco for a pair of freebies in the last 7.0 seconds to make it a 79-75 game.
Kean Baclaan refused to quit against his former school, nailing a huge three with 4.4 ticks left to cut La Salle's deficit down to one, but Jumamoy would ice the game at the free throw line before forcing Lebron Jhames Daep into a costly turnover in the waning moments.
NU brand of basketball
It was a total team effort for the boys from Jhocson with Figueroa showing the way with 18 points, eight rebounds, and two steals, as they finished with a 27-point windup in the last 10 minutes.
Francisco also scored 13, Gelo Santiago notched 12, and Jumamoy provided the intangibles with his eight points and three rebounds, all while putting up a plus-16 in the contest.
Phillips fouled out late in the payoff period after finishing with 15 points, 16 boards, and three steals in this second straight setback for La Salle.
The Green Archers slipped to a 2-3 card, all of those losses coming in their last four assignments, putting the team under .500 for the first time since Topex Robinson handled the program.
Making matters worse was the injury sustained by Mason Amos midway through the final frame after seemingly hyperextending his right knee from an inadvertent collision with Santiago.
Cortez added 15 points, Baclaan had 11 points and six assists, and Luis Pablo had eight points and seven rebounds in the defeat.
The Scores:
NU 82 - Figueroa 18, Palacielo 16, Francisco 13, Santiago 12, Jumamoy 8, Parks 6, Garcia 4, John 3, Manansala 2, Enriquez 0, Padrones 0, Dela Cruz 0, Navarro 0, Reyes 0.
LA SALLE 78 - Phillips 15, Cortez 15, Baclaan 11, Pablo 8, Amos 7, Gollena 6, Macalalag 5, Abadam 4, Daep 3, Dungo 2, Nwankwo 2, Melencio 0, Marasigan 0.
Quarters: 21-23, 40-40, 55-61, 82-78.
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