NATIONAL University ended a years-long losing spell against Ateneo with a hard-fought 78-74 thriller on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Jolo Manansala played the game of his life with his 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks, including the clutch undergoal stab that gave the Bulldogs the 74-72 lead with 38.3 seconds left.
[READ: Winston says playing for Gilas will 'mean a lot to me']
Michael Malonzo also did his part on the defensive end, first stuffing Dave Ildefonso's drive and later tapping the inbounds pass from BJ Andrade to Kai Ballungay to force the last of Ateneo's 25 turnovers - 18 in the first half alone.
Patrick Yu sealed the deal with two free throws with 4.1 seconds left as NU earned its first win over Ateneo in six years when it pulled off a 70-60 victory in UAAP Season 79 back in Sept. 11, 2016.
It's the kind of performance Bulldogs coach Jeff Napa has been demanding from his players, who ended their two-game skid and got back to solo second place at 6-3.
"At last, napunta na rin sa amin yung swerte," sighed the outspoken mentor. "For the past few games, yung swerte di napupunta sa amin. Although we work hard, yung luck napupunta sa kabila. Still, happy ako na nag-live up sa challenge yung mga batang ito."
Napa added in jest: "Kailangan silang mag-step out sa shadows ko. Kahit maitim ako, kailangan nila akong paputiin para mag-step out sila sa shadows ko."
Kean Baclaan chipped in 10 points, four assists, and three boards, John Lloyd Clemente scored nine, and Senegalese center Omar John added eight points and seven rebounds as the Jhocson school ended its 10-game losing skid against the Katipunan side.
Ateneo saw its two-game win streak snapped and fell to 5-3.
BJ Andrade led the Blue Eagles with 21 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep but Ange Kouame was held to just two points and four boards in 27 minutes of play.
The scores:
NU 78 - Manansala 17, Baclaan 10, Clemente 9, John 8, Yu 6, Minerva 6, Malonzo 5, Enriquez 5, Palacielo 4, Figueroa 3, Galinato 3, Mahinay 2, Tibayan 0, Tulabut 0.
ATENEO 74 - Andrade 21, Ballungay 15, Ildefonso 14, Garcia 6, Koon 4, Lazaro 4, Chiu 3, Gomez 3, Kouame 2, Padrigao 2, Quitevis 0.
Quarters: 14-20, 41-29, 56-57, 78-74.