Bulldogs avenge 1st round loss to Warriors in a big way

It didn't take that long for National University to avenge its first round loss to University of the East. NU got back at UE in a huge way as the Bulldogs overpowered the hapless Red Warriors, 91-51, to open the second round of the 74th UAAP men's basketball tournament on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum. The schedule allowed NU to get a quick shot at revenge against UE after the Red Warriors nipped the Bulldogs, 72-71, last August 6. The return match wasn't even close as NU's victory tied the UAAP record for the biggest winning margin since statistics were computerized in 2003. Ironically, it was held by UE after it scored a 99-59 win over University of the Philippines on September 8, 2007. "It was redemption for us beating UE," said NU coach Eric Altamirano. "It was a heartbreaking (first round) loss but I'm glad that we were focused for this game." Emmanuel Mbe had season-high outputs of 21 points and 16 rebounds while rookie Bobby Ray Parks had a near triple-double with 18 markers, eight boards and seven assists as the Bulldogs improved to 3-5. Everything went NU's way as the Bulldogs shot a league-high 52.7 percent from the two-point range. After a sluggish first round, Altamirano hopes that NU's fortunes turn around in the final phase of the eliminations. "We are not thinking about the Final Four. I don't think we handled the first round very well because our team is very young. We just have to play well on both ends of the court especially on defense and we will be there," Altamirano said. UE was within striking distance in the first half until NU used a closing 20-2 scoring blitz in the second period for a 40-20 halftime lead and never looked back. No Red Warrior scored in double figures with Lord Casajeros and Adrian Santos ending up with eight and seven points apiece. - JVP, GMA News had eight points and Adrian Santos had seven points.