UAAP: Bulldogs buck Warriors, tie Tams for top spot 

The National University Bulldogs unleashed Robin Roño on Roi Sumang, neutralizing the University of the East Red Warriors' super point guard, to come out on top with an 81-73 victory on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the second round of UAAP Season 76.

With the win, the Bulldogs grabbed a share of the top spot with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws with identical 8-3 win loss records. The Red Warriors meanwhile even their record at 5-5.

"Coming into this game, we knew [Charles] Mammie and [Lord] Casajeros will not play and we expected UE to come in with a lot of emotion,” admitted NU head coach Eric Altamirano. “There were moments in the game when I thought we lost our composure but we were able to get it back.”

Emmanuel Mbe scored 18 points while adding 11 rebounds. Bobby Ray Parks also chipped in 18 points with 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. The two scored eight points each in the fourth quarter to quell UE’s attempts to get back into the game.

“Even if Mammie wasn’t there, I still expected it to be a tough battle,” Mbe said after the game. “We tried not to think about who’s there and who’s not there. It’s UE.”

The game was a shootout early on with Denice Villamor and Ralf Olivares exchanging two triples each. NU built a 16-10 advantage with an Mbe basket at the 1:51 mark of the first, but the Warriors closed it out with four straight points to cut NU’s lead down to just two after the initial ten minutes.

The emotional game went into overdrive at the 7:35 mark of the second after Roi Sumang fell on the floor clutching his right knee. Will Porter had lost his footing, which caused him to accidentally trip Sumang who landed on his knee. UE's marquee player stayed on the floor for several minutes, but he walked away grimacing while holding onto his coach for balance.

When play resumed, all the Warriors came up with was a hurried three-point shot from Adrian Santos, which quickly turned into a fast break layup from Troy Rosario with 7:15 left in the half for a 26-18 count in NU’s favor.

Things got worse in the next minutes as Ralf Olivares blatantly stepped on Jeoffrey Javillonar’s midsection after being called for an offensive foul. However, no addition whistles were blown. When play resumed, the two individuals involved in the prior play scored for their respective teams, Javillonar via a free throw, followed by an Olivares triple at the 6:10 mark for a 27-22 count in NU’s favor.

Sumang checked back into the game with 4:11 left in the first half with his team down 30-22. He missed on a jumper, but got his own rebound and scored on a reverse layup. Parks replied with an and-one play to build a nine-point lead for NU at 33-24, their biggest lead at that point.

The Warriors went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to four, but Robin Roño made a corner trey followed by two free throws from Mbe to rebuild a nine-point lead, 38-29. Santos got a pu-back to go in, but Roño ended the first half with a long three-point buzzer-beater for a 41-31 count in NU’s favor.


UE opened the third quarter with six straight points to trim the lead down to four. Roño stopped the run with a layup off a steal at the 7:15 mark, but Sumang replied with a basket on the other end, follow by a dose of some heavy trash-talking for a 43-39 count. Chris Javier then added a short hook to get the Warriors to within a basket.

The Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run capped by a Parks triple to raise their lead to seven points at 48-41. The Warriors countered with a 6-0 run to slice the NU lead to a single point anew, 48-47, with 3:16 left in the third.

Just as UE got the momentum, Olivares committed a technical foul which led to a free throw and an inside two from Mbe for a 51-47 count for NU.

The Bulldogs held a 52-49 lead heading into the payoff period.

Early in the fourth, NU built a six-point lead after a Javillonar triple, but Noble responded with four straight points for a 57-55 count.

After Glenn Khobuntin stretched NU's lead to four, Javier scored for UE at the 7:00 mark for a 59-57 count still in NU's favor. The Bulldogs however responded with a 6-0 blast from Javillonar and Mbe to raise their lead to eight at 65-57 with 5:21 left in the game.

Oliveres, who fouled out of the game in the third quarter was called for a technical foul as he elbowed Javillonar after the ball sailed out of bounds. Luckily for the Warriors, Parks only made one of the free throws.

Mbe then went to work, scoring four markers to give the Bulldogs a 70-61 with three minutes left in the game. Roño stretched their lead to 10 with another triple with 2:43 remaining. The Bulldogs then sealed the win with free throws down the stretch, as a tired UE squad ran out of gas.

The Bulldogs were the more cohesive team as they had 17 assists compared to only seven for the Warriors who were really playing off their emotions. They had multiple chances to take the lead in their second half but their line-up was just too limited without their two suspended players and the disqualified Olivares.

JM Noble led UE’s charge with 16 points while Roi Sumang and Chris Javier added 10 points apiece. The Warriors got 15 point from Ralf Olivares, but the one-and-done player committed a bunch of mental mistakes in the second half which hurt his team’s chances.

The two teams will be back in action on September 4 as NU will attempt to stretch their winning streak to six against the UP Maroons, while the Red Warriors will battle the DLSU Green Archers, though with Lord Casajeros back in the line-up. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

NU 81: Mbe 18, Parks 18, Rono 12, Villamor 6, Rosario 6, Javillonar 6, Porter 4, Khobuntin 4, Alolino 3, Javelona 2, Alejandro 2

UE 73: Noble 16, Olivares 15, Sumang 10, Javier 10, Jumao-as 8, Sumido 6, Santos 5, Olayon 2, Alberto 1, Pujante 0, Flores 0, Hernandez 0

Quarter scoring: 16-14, 41-31, 52-49, 81-73