FilOil: Bulldogs feast on weary Chiefs to remain undefeated

National University cemented their status as sovereigns of Group A after the Bulldogs outplayed the Arellano University Chiefs, 86-71, Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Bulldogs used a decisive third quarter where they outscored the Chiefs 30-17, allowing them to carry a sizable 17-point lead heading into the third quarter. They forced the Chiefs to shoot a middling 37 percent, while connecting on an impressive 52 percent of their attempts (28 out of 54), en route to their seventh straight win.

The streak continues for National U as they take a commanding hold of the top spot in Group A with a 7-0 record, while the Chiefs endured their second straight loss of the tourney, to hold a 4-2 card.

Cameroonian center Alfred Aroga scored 22 points and towed in 15 rebounds, while rookie JJ Alejandro and Denice Villamor notched 12 and 10 markers respectively.

National U severely out-rebounded their NCAA counterparts 46 to 33. They made nine out of 15 attempts from long range and scored 21 out of 28 attempts from the line.

Coach Eric Altamirano started Gelo Alolino, Bobby Ray Parks, Jeoffrey Javillonar, Denice Villamor, and Alfred Arogra, while Coach Koy Banal began with Nard Pino, Ralph Salcedo, James Forrester, Keith Agovida, and Prince Caperal.

NU won the jumpball but the possession was awarded to Arellano as the referees called a violation on Aroga. The Dogs didn't mind, as they still led early in the first quarter after Javillonar and Villamor hit back-to-back triples, followed by a basket in the paint by Aroga to make it an 8-2 game at the 9:00 mark. A triple by Forrester finally gave Arellano some scoring at 8-5.

The teams kept going on a tit-for-tat until the score stood at 12-10, when the NU defense clamped down on Arellano. The Bulldogs scored six straight points off two put-backs from Troy Rosario and Aroga, the latter making two free throws to give NU an 18-10 advantage. Arellano would only score after reserve center Nico Bangga made a jumper, 18-12.

A triple by Rosario wedged a nine-point lead between his squad and Arellano, 21-14. Arellano guard Gio Jalalon made a 15-footer to cut the deficit to seven, but Robin Roño shot a triple over him to extend their lead to 12 points, 26-12. A jumper by Arellano reserve Zach Nicholls kept the lead at a manageable 10 points, as NU led 26-16 after the first quarter.

Arellano’s shooters went to work early in the fourth quarter, as jumpers from Nicholls and Allen Enriquez cut the lead to 26-20. NU’s shooters responded, as Kyle Neypes’ jumper countered a hook by Bangga, while triples from rookie JJ Alejandro and Mark de Guzman gave NU a 34-22 lead. Enriquez trooped inside for a lay-in to cut the difference back to ten, but Rosario responded inside to maintain the 12-point lead, 36-24.

After a triple by Forrester to cut the lead to nine points at 36-27, NU reserve Cedrick Labing-Isa was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul on Dan Margallo. Margallo split his free throws and Pinto sank a triple to cut the deficit to just five points, 36-31. Labing-isa committed another gaffe, this time dribbling the ball out of bounds, but Enriquez committed a backing violation to give the ball back to NU.

Pinto sank another jumper to make it a one-possession game, 36-33, but Aroga drained two free throws to keep it at five. The referees handed Aroga an offensive foul after he elbowed Pinto on an overzealous attempt to rush the ball to the basket, and a stab by Agovida again cut the lead to three points, 38-35.

NU pulled away as Alejandro stopped and popped a triple to make it 41-35. Officials called a timeout as Jalalon was on the sidelines, grasping his right foot. Pinto was subbed in and made four straight points to inch Arellano closer by four points, 43-39.

At the half, the Bulldogs shot an overall 54 percent, making 15 out of 28 attempts while also converting seven of their 10 attempts from distance. At the foul line, the UAAP squad was 6-of-7. NU also out-rebounded the Chiefs 21-15 but committed 17 turnovers.

Aroga led the scoring department at the half for the Bulldogs, with 10 points on three shots and four free throws. Backing him up were Rosario and Alejandro with nine and six points, respectively. Parks was ice-cold, making only one of his six attempts in the first half.

On the other hand, the Chiefs made 17 of their 37 shots (46 percent), and were just 3-of-9 from downtown. They shot only 2-of-6 from the free throw line and converted only six points out of 17 NU turnovers.

Pinto kept his team in the game with nine points and five assists, followed by Agovida and Forrester with six markers apiece.


NU came out swinging in the third, going on a 10-0 run, with nine courtesy of Aroga. The Bulldogs' defense kept forcing Arellano to give up the ball by running out the clock. The Chiefs only scored again after a deft hook by Caperal over Aroga, with the lead now at 13 points, 54-41.

The Bulldogs continued to have an answer for every AU basket, as Villamor hit a triple from the corner pocket to up NU’s lead to 16, 57-41. Arellano’s offense came in spurts and relied heavily on jumpers, but they rarely fell. Forrester finally scored on his trademark fast break triple, cutting the lead to 59-46, but a follow-up play from Aroga made it 61-46. Forrester hit another one while being fouled by Parks, making it a 61-50 game after converting the free throw.

Alolino’s triple and Jalalon’s lay-in made it a 64-52 game, but the Chiefs got stuck at 52 points, while the Bulldogs made seven straight, capped by a lay-in by Villamor to up the lead to 17, 71-54. AU scored four straight, but a jumper by Javillonar ended the third at 73-56.

Although the Chiefs put up resistance, NU kept walling Arellano’s attempts, as Aroga’s presence negated any of their opponents’ drives to the hoop. The Chiefs continued to rely on outside shots and hopeful forays to the hoop which rarely fell. NU still fielded their starters, going up by 17 after Parks made an awkward jumper to force Coach Banal to call for time.

Coach Altamirano finally pulled his starters, albeit only at the 1:00 minute mark. Pinto winced at Roño, who was still grappling for the ball even if they were up by 19. Four straight points by AU cut the lead down to 86-71 as time expired.

The Chiefs were severely limited on offense, making only 27 out of 73 shots (37 percent). They made only six out of their 17 attempts from three-point land (35 percent) and only 11 out of 23 tries from the line. They also turned the ball over 14 times, allowing 14 turnover points for NU.

Forrester and Pinto scored 15 points apiece in a losing cause, followed by Caperal with 11. Guarded by Parks, Forrester responded poorly, making only four of 17 shots, all of them from three-point range.

Prior to the game, Parks has averaged 19.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and five assists per contest. Parks made only nine points while logging six rebounds and six assists.

The Bulldogs return to the playing court on Friday, March 17 at 4pm against the winless UP Fighting Maroons (0-3) while the Chiefs go up against the 1-2 Heavy Bombers next Saturday, March 18 at 12pm. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

NU 86 – Aroga 22, Alejandro 12, Villamor 10, Parks 9, Rosario 9, Alolino 7, Rono 6, Javillonar 6, De Guzman 3, Neypes 2, Labing-Isa 0, Khobuntin 0, Perez 0, Javelona 0

AU 71 – Forrester 15, Pinto 15, Caperal 11, Nicholls 7, Agovida 6, Enriquez 6, Jalalon 5, Bangga 5, Margallo 1, Salcedo 0, Cadavis 0

Quarter scoring: 26-16, 43-39, 73-58, 86-71