FilOil: NU Bulldogs scrape past Adamson Falcons in OT

(Updated 5:03pm) The National University Bulldogs racked up their sixth straight win in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Cup elimination round, narrowly defeating the Adamson Soaring Falcons in overtime, 70-68, Monday at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

Trailing by two points entering the fourth, Lloyd Abrigo tied the game from the line after he was fouled early in the period, but defensive breakdowns allowed the Bulldogs to pull away, 56-50, after consecutive strikes by JJ Alejandro.

Adamson went to the block where they had sustained success for the first time in the match, taking a 59-58 lead on an Ingrid Sewa post-up with under three minutes to play. However the Falcons' errors led to makes for Alfred Aroga and Ray Ray Parks on the other end, 62-59.

Twenty-eight seconds remained after Jericho Cruz got to the line on a drive attempt, splitting his tries. Cruz made amends quickly by swiping the Bulldogs' inbounds pass and feeding Abrigo as he cut to the basket. Abrigo drew a foul and made both charities, 62-62, with 19.4 seconds left.

The Bulldogs missed a couple of chances to close the game out, after Parks' left-hand drive rimmed out, and Aroga's second-chance try couldn't fall. The ball eventually fell out of bounds, leaving National U with 0.3 seconds to trigger the ball, but Robin Rono's inbounds pass hit the backboard before they could attempt a lob play.

Adamson banked on their defense in OT, forcing the Bulldogs into several misses and a shot clock violation. Meanwhile Sewa played huge on the other end, making clutch free throws and a crucial tip-in to take a 68-64 lead.

Aroga drew contact on a rare transition lay-up with over a minute to play but couldn't convert the bonus. However, Parks drove in on the next trip and was fouled with 37 seconds to play, making both, 68-68.

The Falcons couldn't penetrate on the other end and settled for a wild drive by Jansen Rios. Parks pushed the ball up-court and knocked down a jumper from the top of the circle to finally gain separation with three seconds remaining, forcing Cruz to chuck the ball from halfcourt, a shot that only grazed the front of the rim.

National U now sits atop Group A rankings with a 6-0 card, while Adamson fell to 1-3.

"It was an acid test for our team. We know you can't take Adamson for granted," said Bulldogs head coach Eric Altamirano on the team's win. "We didn't do a good job with our execution as we had a lot of turnovers and lapses on defense. Our performance in the first half made us think it would be an easy game, but in the second half we gave Adamson their confidence back, and they gave us a hard time."

"I just want to thank my teammates for backing me up and encouraging me for taking that last shot," said Parks of his game-winner after failing to extinguish the Falcons in regulation. He also said that his team needs to exert more effort on defense and consistency to be able to push the team to the next level.

Parks led all scorers with 28 points and six rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting, missing all five of his outside attempts. Aroga racked up 20 points and 16 rebounds.


Early penetration from the two-time UAAP MVP Parks, combined with production from Aroga, resulted in 11 points, and early fuel for the NU offense. On the other side, the Falcons could barely touch their foes inside, for a 14-2 score.

However Adamson scraped by in the final five minutes on spot-up jumpers. Jansen Rios capitalized on a couple of National U's breakdowns to cap a 10-5 run, though a Falcons turnover on the last possession led to a slam by Aroga on the other end to close the first period, 21-12.

After a Troy Rosario trey concluded a 7-2 run for the Bulldogs in the second quarter, they began to settle for outside attempts. The slower tempo favored Adamson, who also turned up the defensive pressure to force the Bulldogs into several turnovers. The Falcons conceded only two more baskets in the last seven minutes of the period and went on a 13-5 run, fueled by triples by rookies Axel Inigo and Dawn Ochea, to make it a 33-27 game by halftime.

The Bulldogs shot 13-of-30 from the field in the first half (43 percent) against Adamson's 12-of-30 (40 percent) clip. The Falcons had an 11-9 advantage in turnover points off an 8-11 error margin.

Parks and Aroga were fouled going to the rim to begin the third quarter but couldn't capitalize on their charity attempts, 39-27. The Bulldogs continued to get to the line as Adamson's center Ingrid Sewa sat out due to foul trouble, but newcomer Maui Bernabe proved to be a revelation in the period, taking turns with Cruz for outside hits and contested lay-ups in a 12-3 run.

The Bulldogs eked out points from loose ball fouls, leading to charities, as they were only able to convert one basket in the last six minutes, a drive by Parks with a minute to play, to keep a 47-45 lead after three quarters.

The Bulldogs finished shooting 25-of-66 from the field (38 percent) against Adamson's 26-of-70 mark (37 percent). However they tallied 24 turnovers compared to the Falcons' 17, leading to a 21-15 advantage in turnover points.

Jericho Cruz dropped 16 points, four rebounds and six assists to lead the Falcons, while Lloyd Abrigo scattered 12 points. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

NU 70: Parks 28, Aroga 20, Villamor 6, Labing-isa 6, Alejandro 4, Rosario 3, De Guzman 2, Rono 1, Javillonar 0, Neypes 0, Khobuntin 0

AdU 68: Cruz 16, Abrigo 12, Brondial 9, Sewa 8, Bernabe 8, Rios 6, Inigo 3, Ochea 3, Cabigas 3, Monteclaro 0, Petilos 0, Trollano 0

Quarter scoring: 21-12, 33-27, 47-45, 62-62, 70-68