Quezon city: National University Nazareth School demolished Ateneo de Manila University, 99-74, to sweep the first round of the UAAP Season 88 juniors basketball tournament at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
According to Philippines News Agency, Malian center Moussa Diakite powered the Bullpups with an impressive 28 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks, leading the team to a commanding 76-48 advantage by the end of the third quarter. Nick Pe±a chipped in 14 points, followed by Clark Khobuntin with 13 points on top of 12 rebounds, and Mark Arzola with 12 points, 11 assists, and three steals.
Sky Jazul scored 25 points, while Domeng Ngo and Jude Ylen contributed 14 and 12, respectively, for Ateneo, which pulled within 31-29 midway through the second quarter. ‘We still have to be competitive in practice. We cannot relax. We need to continue working hard. You have to respect your opponent every game, regardless of whether they’re strong or weak,” said NU head coach Leo Pujante.
In the other game, University of Santo Tomas (UST) edged Adamson University, 87-86, to remain in solo second with a 5-2 record. Miguel Jubilado delivered 21 points, five assists, and three rebounds as the Tiger Cubs rolled to their third straight win. His triple gave UST an 87-78 cushion with 2:23 remaining. The Baby Falcons rallied behind Seb Esma and Keefy Iledan to move within 84-86, with 1:34 left.
Jubilado split his free throws off Alison Jordan to make it 87-84 but Adamson threatened at 86-87 on Jordan’s layup, with seven seconds remaining. After CJ Tabbuga missed two free throws off Fran Flores, Adamson ran out of time to score. ‘During our preparations for this game, we emphasized in our mindset that this is a very crucial game because we are tied in second place in the standings. By winning this game, we will get the number two spot, which allows us to have some breathing room for the second round, as we won’t be too close with the others, and we wouldn’t want it to reach the point that we’ll need other teams to lose so that we can go up the standings. Props to the kids for not giving up until the end,” said UST assistant coach JM Lagumen.
Dats Datu and Cab Castro each had 14 points for UST, while Tabbuga added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Rowie Caba±ero posted 11 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. For Adamson, Fran Flores tallied 17 points and eight assists, Jordan added 13 points, and Majiq Padrejuan and Kyle Abas scored 10 each.
Far Eastern University-Diliman and University of the East share third place at 4-2, followed by Adamson (4-3) and Ateneo (2-5). De La Salle Zobel and UP Integrated School remain winless at 0-6.
