UAAP: Top of the league NU Bulldogs simply superb versus cellar-dwellers UP Fighting Maroons

(Updated 3:44pm) The battle between the team at the top of the UAAP standings and the one at the bottom unfolded without any surprises.

The National University Bulldogs dominated on both sides of the court, to manhandle the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 79-62, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in UAAP Season 76's second round.

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

NU improved to 9-3, thanks in part to a six-game win streak, while UP now has just three chances to get a win this season, 0-11.

The Bulldogs have yet to lose in the second round, while UP's mid-season replacement coach Rey Madrid has yet to win after three outings.

The Maroons actually put up a substantial fight, getting to within three, 45-42, 7:35 left in the third, but the Bulldogs exploded for 12 unanswered markers, 57-42, and never looked back.

Bobby Ray Parks churned out 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting (60 percent), tying FEU Tamaraw Terrence Romeo for this season's record in scoring, to go with 10 rebounds and five assists.

"We talked about this game in the last three days, and we didn't want to take UP lightly. There's a significance to this game, and we're assured of a playoff [in case of a tie at fourth place]. That's one step forward for us," said Bulldogs head coach Eric Altamirano.

However, he cautioned his team against falling into complacency at this point of the tournament. "One day you're number one, but if you're complacent you could fall," Altamirano added, saying that the season will remain unpredictable until the last game of the season.

Meanwhile, Parks' big game puts him back in strong contention for the MVP race. Tthe defending two-time MVP though brushed off the possibility of bagging the unprecedented feat.

"A championship for NU for the first time in five decades will be historic, too," he said, adding that his numbers were only a result of strong team play and support from the coaching staff.

Emmanuel Mbe added 14 points and 13 rebounds. Gelo Alolino logged nine assists while tying Jeoff Javillonar and JJ Alejandro for six points apiece.

Parks was in attack mode early on, penetrating often to score seven of NU's first nine points. The Maroons started strong as well, connecting on the perimeter shots that National U conceded, including a pair of treys by Joseph Marata, to take an 11-9 lead.

However, the pace picked up considerably in the last four minutes, allowing both teams to more than double their previous output. Parks scored 14 points in the frame to put UP in a seven-point hole, until a late alley-oop to Raul Soyud got it down slightly to a 24-19 Bulldogs lead at the end of the first period.

The Maroons' momentum carried over to the second frame, closing the gap to two, 28-26, on a bucket by Chris Ball. But the Bulldogs fended off UP's advances with timely triples from JJ Alejandro, to carry a 43-36 lead into the halftime break.

Parks had 17 points at halftime on 7-of-9 shooting, to go with three rebounds and three assists.


After the break, UP fell away as errors led to easy points on the other end, with Dennice Villamor coasting for an easy two, 57-42. The Bulldogs exploited the Maroons' porous defense and undersized line-up for offensive rebounds and cuts to the basket, to widen their lead to 64-48 heading into the final frame.

UP came out with a lot of energy in the fourth quarter, as aggressive moves by Soyud and Paul Desiderio sandwiched a Marata transition trey, 64-55. However the Bulldogs quickly reestablished control as Paolo Javelona and Parks penetrated to derail the Maroons' rally.

Parks and Gelo Alolino maintained complete control for the Bulldogs the rest of the way. With under two minutes to play, Parks swooped to the rim to hammer one over Soyud, 77-62, to punctuate the affair.

National U shot 28-of-48 (58.33 percent) from the floor against UP's 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) mark. The Bulldogs also seized a huge advantage at the charity stripe, making 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) of their charities, while the Maroons went 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) for the entire game.

The Bulldogs also dominated in the rebounding (43-36), assists (20-9) and fast break points (19-11) categories.

Raul Soyud posted 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Joseph Marata added 13 points and five rebounds for UP. - AMD, GMA News
 

The scores:

NU 79 – Parks 30, Mbe 14, Javillonar 6, Alolino 6, Alejandro 6, Khobuntin 5, Villamor 4, De Guzman 4, Rosario 2, Javelona 2, Rono 0, Porter 0, Neypes 0

UP 62 – Soyud 17, Marata 13, Desiderio 8, Lao 6, Gallarza 4, Ball 4, Wong 3, Pascual 3, Paras 2, Harris 2, Asilum 0, Amar 0

Quarter scoring: 24-19, 43-36, 64-48, 79-62