UE upsets defending champion NU anew

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – It seems University of the East truly has the defending champion’s number as they pulled off another upset over National University, 52-47, in the men’s basketball tournament of UAAP Season 78 on Saturday, October 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Red Warriors, which defeated the much bigger Bulldogs in the first round, ended a 4-game slide as Chris Javier hit a game-high 16 points including 9 rebounds and two blocks.

“I think we just stuck to our game plan defensively. We were not really playing that well,” UE head coach Derrick Pumaren said of the gritty, foul-plagued, turnover-prone contest. “Our defense carried us in the game.”

The veteran team captain collected all 7 of his fourth quarter points within the final 5 minutes as he knocked down 3 crucial pull-up jumpers that provided some much-needed cushion for UE in the low-scoring affair, 49-43, with 1:35 minutes left to play.

He also connected on a free throw to make it a two-possession ballgame, 50-45, with less than a minute to go.

Guard Gelo Alolino connected on back-to-back lay-ups to slice the deficit to 50-47 with only two ticks remaining. But Edgar Charcos knocked down a pair of free throws for the final tally.

Paul Varilla contributed 10 points, 9 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Nick Abanto added 7 points, 9 boards and two thefts as UE rose to 3-5.

“Coach said that for us, this is the start of our season. We need to think that 0-0 is our standing and that this is the opening for us,” Javier pointed out sa the Warriors plan on making one final run for the Final Four in the second round.

The Bulldogs had a subpar performance all throughout as big man Alfred Aroga struggled offensively with only 11 points to go with 9 rebounds, a steal and two blocks.

Kyle Neypes and Adven Diputado added 9 and 8 points, respectively, as NU dropped to 3-5 as well.

UE was down by as much as 10 points in the first half but managed to find holes in NU’s defense in the second half. They gave the champion a taste of their own suffocating medicine with a 16-8 third quarter output.

Both teams piled up on miscues with NU slightly ahead 28-26, as UE, though playing all-Filipino and a much smaller team by comparison, out-rebounded their foes by 54-43.

The Bulldogs failed miserably in finding their stride with only 6 assists, no made three-pointers and a terrible 28% total field goal shooting in 40 minutes of play.

Scores:

UE (52): Javier 16, Varilla P. 10, Abanto 7, Charcos 4, De Leon 4, Palma 4, Batiller 3, Gagate 2, Varilla J 2, Derige 0, Manalang 0, Penuela 0, Sta. Ana 0, Yu 0.

NU (47): Aroga 11, Neypes 9, Diputado 8, Alolino 6, Celda 4, Salim 4, Salim 4, Alejandro 3, Tansingco 2, Abatayo 0, Javillonar 0, Yu 0.

Quarter scores: 8-12, 21-28, 37-36, 52-47.

 – Rappler.com