FilOil: Parks’ big bite leads Bulldogs into Finals

On Tuesday, the FilOil Flying V Pre-season Tournament will crown a new champion. The National University Bulldogs rode a red-hot Bobby Ray Parks on route to a crushing victory over the defending titlists, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 85-68, Saturday in their semifinal match at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Parks dialed everything in, tallying 30 points on 12 for 17 shooting from the field. He led a balanced scoring act as forwards Jeoff Javillonar and Denice Villamor notched 13 and 12 points, respectively, while center Emmanuel Mbe was a solid anchor with 10 markers down low. National University successfully bottled up the Blue Eagles, especially on their pick and rolls, and flustered their shooters for the entire game. Greg Slaughter was the lone highlight for Ateneo, with 21 points on a 7-for-15 effort from the field. The rest of the team, by comparison, made only 14-of-36 shots from the field, for 39 percent. UAAP Season 74 Finals MVP Nico Salva was the only other Eagle in double digits with 14 points. Early in the first quarter, Ateneo was adept at finding the open man, answering every basket by National University en route to a 12-10 advantage. However the Bulldogs found their range, as Parks and Javillonar gunned from deep to keep things close, with the former, the reigning UAAP MVP, dropping 10 in the first 10 minutes of play. Halfway through the period, the Bulldogs' defense picked up, forcing Ateneo into repeated miscues. National University went on a 12-2 tear, exploiting Ateneo's inability to get back in transition. With under two minutes in the period, a turnaround hook in the lane by Tonino Gonzaga got Ateneo back on the board, but two Bulldog trips to the line ended the quarter at 25-16 in their favor. National University continued to pour in the points as Kyle Neypes scored five in an 11-6 burst in the second period. A couple of drives by Salva spelled the Eagles for a while, but Villamor scored six straight to pull ahead, 42-26. As the Bulldogs slowed down the Eagles seemed to gain some composure. Slaughter was fouled after an Oping Sumalinog trey, and the Eagles trooped to the line. Slaughter scored in the lane before time expired to tally 13 markers at the half, though Ateneo still trailed 46-35. Parks scored seven straight points to to begin the third for National University, and if that wasn’t enough, they also got a two-handed dunk by Mbe off a pick and roll with Gelo Alolino to cap off a blistering 11-4 run by the Bulldogs. For a brief stint Ateneo's zone held defense serve, allowing Slaughter and Nico Salva to score the Eagles' next six markers. But NU responded with three consecutive triples, and the Blue Eagles were lucky to escape with the final word, as Justin Chua made one in the lane off a dish from Kiefer Ravena to end the third period, 68-51. The Blue Eagles had an opportunity to get back in the game in the fourth, forcing National University into the penalty early. A small 9-5 run from Ateneo, backed by five from Juami Tiongson, prompted the Bulldogs to check Parks back into the game at 75-62, despite four fouls, with under five minutes to play. The one-time Georgie Tech prospect responded with a right-handed dunk on the next possession, crushing any potential comeback from the Katipunan-based squad. NU was red-hot from the field, draining 51 percent of their 65 attempts, for 33 conversions. They were similarly prolific from downtown, draining 10 triples out of 27 tries. By contrast, Ateneo was held to 41 percent field goal shooting, 3-of-8 from long-range. The Bulldogs also capitalized on their new-found strengths, turnover points and fastbreak opportunities. They outdid Ateneo in both regards, getting 18 turnover points off 18 Blue Eagle turnovers, while also doubling the reigning UAAP champs’ fastbreak points, 10-5. With the victory, NU advances to the FilOil Finals for the first time, where they will face the winner of DLSU versus SBC. - AMD, GMA News The scores: NU 85: Parks 30, Javillonar 13, Villamor 12, Mbe 10, Neypes 7, Alolino 5, De Guzman 3, Rono 3, Ignacio 2, Betaneye 0, Labing-isa 0, Singh 0 ADMU 68: Slaughter 21, Salva 14, Ravena 8, Tiongson 8, Sumalinog 6, Gonzaga 5, Elorde 2, Buenafe 2, Chua 2, Golla 0, Pessumal 0, Erram 0, Capacio 0 Quarter scoring: 25-16, 46-35, 68-51, 85-68 FilOil 060912 NU vs ADMU