Bulldogs end UAAP campaign with win over Tigers

National University closed out its Season 73 campaign on a winning note as Cameroonian Emmanuel Mbe and seldom-used Jul-Ashri Ignacio led the Bulldogs to a 62-54 victory over University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP men's basketball tournament on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum. Mbe, one of the contenders for the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, tallied 18 points and nine rebounds but it was Ignacio who made the most of his playing minutes for the Sampaloc-based squad, who finished the season with an even 7-7 slate. Ignacio, who is averaging just four minutes in only eight games, came off the bench recording a career-high 15 points and three assists in 16 minutes for NU, which led by as much as 13 points in the first half. The Zamboanga City native put the Bulldogs up by 13, 41-38, after completing a three-point play with 7:14 remaining in the third period. The Bulldogs equaled the record they held during the 2001 season, the year the school made its only Final Four appearance, but coach Eric Gonzales though would have wanted his current NU squad to make duplicate that feat. Despite the loss, Gonzales remained positive. "I was thinking that we should be in the Final Four but I guess it wasn't meant to be. But the future looks bright for our team, this is just a warm-up for us to reach the top." Mbe's near double-double performance perhaps helped the NU big man overtook Far Eastern University's RR Garcia and Aldrech Ramos in the MVP race. "We'll I'm not aware of that but if I'll be able to get that award then my teammates are responsible for that," said Mbe, who completed his initial season in the league after spending two years of residency. Center Jewel Ponferrada and Kokoy Hermosisima, who played their final games as a Bulldog, ended their season in style by producing 10 and seven points each. Jeric Teng had 20 points while guard Jeric Fortuna added 14 markers, three rebounds and three assists for UST, which finished in seventh place with a 4-10 record, one of the the worst since posting the same card in 2005. The nearest UST could get was at 48-42 on a Clark Bautista three-pointer with 2:57 left in the third but NU countered every comeback attempt the rest of the way. "Maturity was our main problem this year," said UST coach Pido Jarencio regarding the season. "Actually we're losing games during the last two minutes and that really didn't help us in our campaign." – JVP, GMANews.TV

NU 62 - Mbe 18, Ignacio 15, Ponferrada 10, Hermosisima 7, Eriobu 4, Baloran 4, Javelona 3, Khobuntin 1, Ludovice 0, Javillonar 0, Tungcul 0, Terso 0, Singh 0, Malanday 0, Magat 0. UST 54 - Teng 20, Fortuna 14, Camus 6, Pe 5, Bautista 5, Mamaril 2, Afuang 2, Wong 0, Tinte 0, Marata 0, Lo 0, Daquioag 0, Marquez 0, Mariano 0, Aytona 0. Quarter scores: 17-11, 33-24, 52-46, 62-54.