UAAP: Bulldogs keep Maroons winless

The National University Bulldogs routed the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 74-60, keeping them winless after four outings in the first elimination round of the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, Sunday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

Reigning two-time MVP Bobby Ray Parks led all scorers with 18 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Emmanuel Mbe added 10 points and 12 boards, while Gelo Alolino supplied 12 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Troy Rosario scattered 10 points and six rebounds.

National U made their living at the free throw line, attacking the hoop for a 30-of-40 (75 percent) led by Ray Ray Parks' 15-of-16 clip. In comparison, the Maroons totaled 9-of-15 (60 percent) at the charity stripe.

"I thought we did a good job with our defense in the fourth, and at the same time nag-click yung offense namin," said Bulldogs head coach Eric Altamirano. "Somehow we couldn't get a big lead against UP, but I think that's going to be their story of the season. They're unpredictable. But we wanted to take advantage of our height so we really wanted to play them inside."

Altamirano also praised his point guard Gelo Alolino's output, especially his game-high seven assists. "Gelo Alolino did a good job spreading the plays and helping the other players score. He's not a scoring guard, he's more of a look to pass guard and he loves to create," he said. "He's very vital to the team because he orchestrates. He may not be the number one point guard in the league but he should be there on top."

The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 and share the second-place spot with the UST Tigers in the rankings. Meanwhile, UP's 0-4 card gives the Ateneo Blue Eagles to escape the league basement when they clash against the Adamson Falcons later in the afternoon.

The teams started playing evenly matched early in the first quarter, but halfcourt execution made the difference for the Bulldogs. Better spacing and ball movement gave National U easier looks at the basket, while the Maroons threw the ball away on several occasions.

Save for a couple of layups by rookie Kyles Lao, UP limped through a six-minute stretch in the period as the Bulldogs went on a 17-4 rally. However, a late trey by JR Gallarza with 26 seconds left allowed UP to end the quarter trailing 21-13.

The Maroons briefly made inroads against National U in the second quarter, as a Martin Pascual triple highlighted a 7-3 run, 23-20. But an and-one layup by Troy Rosario truncated UP's rally with six and a half minutes left. It was a sign of things to come for the Bulldogs as they continued to draw contact inside and convert at the line.

National U scored eight of their next 13 points from the line off 12 charity attempts. The Bulldogs then led by as much as 11 points on a Parks drive with 45 seconds left, until split freebies by Raul Soyud during the next play made it a 39-29 halftime tally.

After two quarters, National U shot 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) from the field, but converted 17-of-19 (89.5 percent) attempts at the free throw line. In contrast, UP was 12-of-34 (35.4 percent) from the floor but just 2-of-4 on charities.


The Maroons bounced back after the halftime break as Joseph Marata made a couple of triples, and Soyud's activity beneath the basket helped cut the lead to three, 45-42, barely four minutes into the quarter. But UP were unable to sustain the effort and scored only five more points after their early outburst.

Although the Bulldogs' penetration plays were less contained in this quarter, but Parks still found ways to get to the line. National U went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe the rest of the way, with Parks accounting for 5-of-6 to take a 53-47 lead heading into the final frame.

The Bulldogs looked to wrap the game up in the fourth as they ran layup lines against UP, with Rosario accounting for six points in a 10-1 blitz, 63-48. The Maroons couldn't convert from the field until under four minutes to play on a Soyud putback, 66-52.

National U shot 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) from the field, while UP was 23-of-69 (33.3 percent).

The Maroons led in second-chance points, 19-11.

Sam Marata top-scored for UP with 14 points. Kyles Lao tallied 11 points, while Raul Soyud had 10 points and 20 rebounds in the losing effort. - CLP, GMA News


The scores:

NU 74: Parks 18, Mbe 15, Alolino 12, Rosario 10, Javillonar 9, Rono 3, Alejandro 3, Villamor 2, Khobuntin 0, Porter 0, De Guzman 0

UP 60: Marata 14, Lao 11, Soyud 10, Ball 8, Gallarza 5, Pascual 3, Gingerich 3, Asilum 3, Wong 2, Ligad 1, Suarez 0, Paras 0, Desiderio 0, Amar 0

Quarter scores: 21-13, 39-29, 53-47, 74-60