UAAP: Parks charities help NU inflict first loss on FEU

(Updated 6:49pm) After struggling with his field goals all game long, clutch charities down the stretch by Bobby Ray Parks helped the National University Bulldogs inflict the first loss of the season on the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 59-58, Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

NU improved to 5-3 in the standings, while FEU dropped to 7-1.

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

“They’re a very tough team to beat,” Parks said after the game. “FEU is a complete team but we prepared really hard for them.”

After both teams went scoreless for a minute and a half, Emmanuel Mbe broke the silence with two free throws, after drawing a foul off a broken possession, 58-56.  

It was Parks' turn to get fouled, with 32.3 seconds left in the game, but he only managed to sink one. Romeo turned the ball over on the next possession and Parks was fouled anew. This time he made both to give the Bulldogs a 59-58 lead with 9.5 seconds left in the game.

Two NU fouls left FEU 5.7 ticks to work with, and they burned their last timeout to set something up. Mike Tolomia received the ball from the top of the key, but he missed on a runner, and after a mad scramble for the rebound, RR Garcia's triple came too late, allowing NU to escape victorious.

Although Parks carried his side in the end, after being hobbled by early fouls, it was a total team effort for the NU Bulldogs. Gelo Alolino stepped up to steady the team, scoring 13 points in the game while adding five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Glenn Khobuntin and Emmanuel Mbe chipped in with 10 points apiece while Parks finished with a mere seven.

“I like what happened in the end game,” said NU head coach Eric Altamirano. “We were down by four but we regrouped. And true enough it was our defense that won us the game. “

The Bulldogs ran out to a 6-0 start, with the Tamaraws committing turnover after turnover, promoting FEU head coach Nash Racela to call an early timeout.

FEU finally broke into the scoring column with a free throw from Anthony Hargrove. He added a fast break basket at the 6:13 mark for his side's first field goal of the game, 6-3.

The Tamaraws settled down later in the first, but Khobuntin scored back-to-back baskets followed by a triple from Robin Roño to give NU a 17-13 lead.

RR Garcia however ended the first period with two straight baskets to knot the game at 17-all after the initial 10 minutes of play.

The two teams bled for points in the first half of the second quarter. NU only managed four points to FEU's two, halfway in, but Mike Tolomia scored FEU’s second basket with a layup at the 3:14 mark to reduce their deficit to 23-21.

The Bulldogs were able to stretch their lead to five points after Emmanuel Mbe ran the floor and scored in transition, but Tolomia came to the rescue again with two straight baskets to get FEU within a point, 1:20 left in the first half.

The final minute of the first half belonged to NU though. After a split by Roño, Alolino ended the second period with back-to-back floaters inside, for a 31-25 NU lead heading into the break.


With Terrence Romeo struggling from the field, Garcia stepped up to start the third quarter with a basket. Romeo then finally swished his first triple of the ball game, part of an 8-2 run that knotted the game at 33-all

The Bulldogs however unleashed a 10-0 run capped by four points from the designated Romeo-shadower William Porter, to make it 43-33, 4:15 left in the period.

The Tamaraws were able to bring the lead down to three points behind big baskets from Carl Bryan Cruz, but Alolino again finished the quarter with back-to-back baskets to give NU a 50-43 lead heading into the payoff period.

Garcia scored five points early in the final period to bring the NU lead down to two. After a floater that trickled in, the former league MVP sank a triple at the 7:27 mark for a 52-50 count still in NU’s flavor. He sank another triple soon after to give the Tamaraws a 53-52 lead. Not quite finished yet, the fight-year guard added a layup to forge a 55-52 lead, 5:43 left.

Mbe banked in a short jumper, just the second field goal of the quarter for NU, but Belo replied with a booming triple to give FEU their biggest lead at 58-54 with only 3:40 left in the game.

Seldom-used guard Will Porter was a revelation for the Bulldogs as he was their primary defender on Romeo. With Porter on him for majority of the time, Romeo only scored only eight points on 3-of-18 shooting from the field.

“We were planning it since our last game against La Salle,” Altamirano said. “We really wanted Porter to be the primary defender against Romeo.”

RR Garcia top-scored for FEU with 20 markers, but he was the only Tam to log double-digit points. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

NU 59: Alolino 13, Mbe 10, Khobuntin 10, Parks 7, Villamor 4, Porter 4, Rono 4, Perez 4, Javillonar 2, Alejandro 1, Javelona 0, De Guzman 0

FEU 58: Garcia 20, Tolomia 8, Romeo 8, Cruz 6, Belo 5, Mendoza 4, Hargrove 3, Inigo 2, Pogoy 2, Sentcheu 0, Jose 0, Dennison 0, Aguilon 0

Quarter scores: 17-17, 31-25, 50-43, 59-58