NATIONAL University boosted its bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball Final Four after dispatching UST, 76-65, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
Kean Baclaan maintained his sharp form for the Bulldogs with 13 points, five assists, and two rebounds as NU drew level with University of the Philippines at 10-2 (win-loss) heading to the last two weeks of the two-round prelims.
READ: SCENARIOS: UP, La Salle and NU dispute two twice-to-beat spots
Ahead of their penultimate prelims matches, there remains a three-horse race among UP (10-2), NU (10-2), and La Salle (8-3) with a game at hand for the two twice-to-beat incentives come the Final Four.
"Alam naman namin kung ano 'yung capabilities ng UST pero siyempre 'yung iniisip talaga namin is how we play pa rin. Medyo relaxed nu'ng first half so nu'ng second half, we tried to convince the players na that's not the way we treat the game," said NU head coach Jeff Napa.
"Binago namin ulit 'yung approach namin, binalik namin 'yung usual (game) namin so at least kahit papano nakuha namin ('yung panalo). 'Yung bench players namin, nandu'n 'yung mindset na maka-contribute sa team with their efforts," he added.
In a game where Napa fielded all of his 15 available players sans Steve Nash Enriquez (jaw), who is expected to return as early as next week, the Bulldogs overcame a sluggish first half and pulled away thanks to 45 bench points.
UST, however, didn't back down easily as Christian Manaytay's game-high 14 points and Nic Cabañero's double-double of 13 points and 10 boards proved to be the saving grace in their 11th loss in 12 games this season.
The scores:
NU (76) – Baclaan 13, Yu 12, Palacielo 10, Jumamoy 9, Galinato 8, John 6, Manansala 6, Figueroa 5, Malonzo 4, Lim 3, Casinillo 0, Parks 0, Padrones 0, Delos Reyes 0, Gulapa
UST (65) – Manaytay 14, Cabañero 13, Moore 8, Duremdes 6, Manalang 5, Laure 5, Pangilinan 5, Ventulan 3, Calum 2, Crisostomo 2, Llemit 2, Lazarte 0, Magdangal 0, Esmena 0.
Quarterscores: 20-16, 35-28, 53-38, 76-65
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